Vinesh Phogat who gave a hint of breaking her retirement and returning to wrestling, aiming for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 opened up on her journey in life, both as a person and an athlete, and thanked people who helped her throughout it. Surprisingly the wrestler has not mentioned her first coach, and uncle Dronacharya Mahavir Phogat’s name, and also said nothing about his contribution in her post.

Even, she has given her husband Somvir a huge credit for his constant support in her career so far.

Speaking in a new post on X, Vinesh opened up on how she did not even know what the Olympics were as a small girl from a small village and all she dreamt was of "long hair, flaunting a mobile phone" and other things that any young girl would do.

"Olympic rings: as a small girl from a small village I did not know what was the Olympics or what these rings meant. As a small girl, I dream of things like long hair, flaunting a mobile phone in my hand, and doing all these things that any young girl would normally dream of," said Vinesh.

Talking about her father, a bus driver who passed away when she was young, and her mother, who was diagnosed with stage three cancer after her husband's death, Vinesh said, "My father, an ordinary bus driver, would tell me that one day he would see his daughter fly high in a plane while he would drive on the road below, that only I would turn my father's dreams into a reality. 

“I do not want to say it, but I think I was his favourite child because I was the youngest of the three. When he used to tell me about this I used to laugh at the absurd thought of it, it did not mean much to me. My mother, who could have a whole story written on the hardships of her life, only dreamt that all her children would one day live a life better than she did.”

"Being independent and her kids being up on their own feet was enough of a dream for her. Her wishes and dreams were much more simple than my father's."

“But the day my father left us, all I was left with were his thoughts and words about flying in that plane. I was confused about its meaning then but held that dream close to me anyway. My mother's dream was now farther away because a couple of months after my father's death she was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer.”

"Here began the journey of three kids who would lose their childhood to support their single mother. Soon my dreams of long hair, and a mobile phone faded as I faced the reality of life and got into the race of survival," she added.

Vinesh said that this race for survival taught her a lot and witnessing her mother's hardships, "never say die, and fighting spirit" made her the person she is today.

Vinesh thanked each of her support staff including Dr Dinshaw Pandiwala, Dr Wayne Patrick Lombard, Woller Akes and Ashwini Jeevan Patil.