If resolve had a face, Vinesh Phogat would certainly bear close resemblance to it, if not be it.A veteran on the wrestling mat, an icon whose Olympic dream was shattered more than once by cruel twists of fate, a fierce voice that stood up to the establishment and now Congress’ newly elected legislator in the Haryana assembly.
Phogat, the cynosure of many an eye in the run-up to the Haryana elections, won her debut election from Julana with a margin of 6,015 votes.
It was a tough morning with the 30-year-old at several points trailing or neck and neck with her BJP rival Yogesh Kumar. But the pint-sized dynamo from Charkhi Dadri won the day, no small feat and a victory she will savour for a long time.
For once, it seemed, enough was enough for the young woman. Enough to beat a four-way contest, to take back a seat the Congress had not won since 2005 and to become the first woman wrestler to win an election in the state.
The former grappler is living a life so engrossing it wouldn’t be a surprise if she soon becomes an inspiration for a mega-budget Bollywood biopic.
A little over a month ago, she did what many had been expecting for months, embraced politics as a Congress candidate from Julana for the Haryana assembly polls. The party was tipped to uproot the ruling BJP, which was facing 10 years of anti-incumbency.
That hasn’t happened of course with the BJP winning or ahead in 48 of the 90 seats and the Congress trailing at 37.
None of it has been easy. But Phogat hasn’t known it any other way ever since she was a child. How could she, when life just wouldn’t give her a break.
She endured the pain of losing her father as a nine-year-old, and found solace in wrestling, a sport that almost broke her physically and mentally before she finally gave up, conceding that she couldn’t fight it anymore.
By withdrawing from the mat, she saved the fight for a different turf and this time, Phogat managed to turn the corner.
From disqualification for being 100gm over ahead of her 50kg Olympic final, she is now a winning heavyweight in the political arena.
The tears she shed mourning the heartbreak in Paris long made way for a radiant smile as she campaigned through the length and breadth of Julana, assuring people that she was going to be their steady companion.
