Vinesh Phogat Wins From Julana In Haryana Elections; Bajrang Punia Congratulates Her

Fighting her first election ever, the 30-year-old received just over 65,000 votes and defeated BJP's Yogesh Kumar by 6,015 votes.

Congratulating her on the victory, Tokyo Olympic medallist wrestler Bajrang Punia said that Vinesh had won a fight against "oppressive forces".

Though Vinesh won her constituency, Congress remained short of majority mark as BJP looked set to win Haryana, a state that the saffron party has ruled for the last 10 years.

Vinesh had joined Congress in September, soon after returning to India from Paris after a heart-breaking Olympics. The wrestler who turned 30 in August was set to fight for the gold medal in the 52kg category before she was disqualified from the competition due to being 100 grams overweight.

An appeal by her team in the Court of Arbitration of Sports was rejected, meaning despite winning all her matches before her disqualification, Vinesh would be placed last in the competition and not get a medal. Vinesh retired from Wrestling after this heart-break and joined politics.

In the run up to the Olympics, Vinesh was involved in protests against former BJP MP and ex-Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan SIngh over accusations of sexual harassment by multiple wrestlers. Vinesh was the face of the protests alongside Olympic medalist wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik.

She had also suffered a knee injury last year, forcing her to miss the Hangzhou Asian Games. However, Vinesh managed to make a comeback at the Paris Olympics only for her dream of winning a gold medal to be shattered by being overweight.