Vinesh Phogat Wins Julana Seat in Haryana Assembly Elections

Former wrestler and Indian National Congress (INC) candidate Vinesh Phogat secured her first political victory on Tuesday, winning the Julana constituency in Haryana’s Assembly Elections. Phogat defeated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Yogesh Kumar by a margin of 6,015 votes.

The 30-year-old, who retired from wrestling following her disqualification at the Paris Olympics, had an illustrious sports career. A three-time Olympian, Vinesh holds three Commonwealth Games gold medals, two World Championships bronze medals, an Asian Games gold, and was crowned Asian champion in 2021. She unsuccessfully appealed her disqualification at the Olympics, where she was barred from the 50kg gold medal bout for being overweight.

Vinesh belongs to the renowned Phogat wrestling family, which includes cousins Geeta, Babita and Sangeeta. Sangeeta is married to Olympic bronze medallist Bajrang Punia.

In 2023, Vinesh, along with Bajrang and Sakshi Malik, led a protest against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). The protest, held at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, was in response to allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against the federation’s then-president, BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.