Vinesh Phogat bows out of Asian Games trials after semi-final loss to Meenakshi Goyat; a dramatic day ends in disappointment

Vinesh Phogat’s hopes of making India’s squad for the 2026 Asian Games ended on Saturday after she lost 4-6 to Asian bronze medalist Meenakshi Goyat in the semifinals of the women’s 53kg selection trials at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi.The defeat ended Vinesh’s campaign after an eventful day in which she first secured clearance to compete in the 53kg category before making it to the last four.Vinesh started her campaign with a 7-1 win over Jyoti of Haryana. She then defeated Nisha in a hard-fought quarter-final to book her place in the semi-finals.In the match against Nish, Vinesh fought back after going 0-5 in the opening period. Nishu almost pinned the former World Championship medalist after executing a four-point roll, but Vinesh managed to survive.The competition was interrupted several times by challenges and technical problems with the screens, resulting in long breaks. Nishu controlled large parts of the match with impressive half-head locks, but Vinesh turned the match in the second period with a four-point throw of her own.Vinesh then attempted to pin Nisha, prompting her husband and trainer Sombir Rathi along with supporters to demand a decision for the pin. Finally, the challenge was accepted. The officials ruled that the umpire “blowed the wrong whistle” but Vinesh was not awarded a pin. Instead, Nishu was placed in a ground position, though she couldn’t take advantage of it.A subsequent two-point move gave Vinesh a 6-5 lead. The score later became 6-6, with Vinesh leading on the criteria. Nishu launched one final attack but did not score points. Her coach challenged the decision but lost the review, allowing Vinesh to advance to the semi-finals.After the match, Nishu was left on the mat in tears and refused to shake hands with either the referee or Vinesh.Earlier in the day, Vinesh was involved in a controversy over her weight class. The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) initially informed her during the official weigh-in that she would only be allowed to compete in the 50 kg division, citing her participation in that category in her last four international events, including the Paris Olympics.Vinesh contested the decision and accused the federation of discriminating against her by preventing her from competing in the category of her choice.The issue was later resolved in her favor. Vinesh weighed 53.9 kg and was placed in the 53 kg draw.However, her run ended in the semi-finals where Meenakshi Goyat secured a 6-4 victory to knock her out of contention at the Asian Games.

Do you think Vinesh Phogat should have been allowed to compete in her preferred weight class?