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Hard times. To quote the late great American dream, Dusty Rhodes, these are “hard times” for Vinesh Phogat. Hard times are when you miss weight and leave empty-handed. Hard times are when you tear your knee in the middle of the tournament on the mat and leave empty-handed. Hard times are when you fight a broken system and stand up against a much more powerful evil. Hard times are when you miss a generational dream by 100 grams. These are truly hard times.
Forged from fire and adversity, you missed finishing your redemption story by 100 grams. A story started decades ago by your uncle, mentor, and the man who dared to dream, Mahavir Phogat. Asian Games gold, Commonwealth gold, Asian championship gold – you’ve achieved what most athletes can barely dream of, and you don’t need anyone to tell you that. You’ve been hurt, broken, and thrown away by the system. We who can’t imagine the adversity of rumbling on the mat have no clue how to treat our athletes. Everyone knows you were good enough to best every wrestler in Paris and win the gold. That’s the reality. You have suffered enough, experienced enough, and are strong-willed enough to live with this L. You can leave and live peacefully away from an ungrateful country and a system which betrays you at every turn.
The only problem is that one day when you meet God and he tells you how close you were to finishing your story, would you be able to accept that? When your journey ends, what will haunt you worse, this loss to 100 grams or the what if of competing again? Will the last chapter of your life be a loss to 100 grams or will it be written by you on your terms? Only you can answer these questions.
After the protest, many said that you don’t have IT anymore. They said you lost IT when you chose to take a stand against injustice. They said your career was over. IT? I say you have IT. You couldn’t throw IT or sell IT even if you wanted to. You’ve come too far to go back now, and too much evil smiles to see you fail and lose. You are the Indian dream; you represent everyone who ever took a stand against a much greater enemy. The adversity and setbacks only make the eventual win sweeter. There is only one way you can go, and that is forward. Don’t do it for the country, don’t do it for your fans, do it for yourself. Finish the story for your family and finish those who put hard times upon you. You only truly lose if you stop trying, and they only win if you give up. So, pick yourself up and go again and again till you finish the story because you are the Indian dream. They’ve been trying to take you down for a long time, and I don’t think there’s a man who is man enough to do it. You are not a spoke in the wheel; you will break the wheel of the system. You know what you want but you also know what is needed to be done. The Indian dream will not go gentle into that good night; the Indian dream will finish her story.
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