Vinesh pulls out of Asian Games due to injury, clears way for Panghal's inclusion

New Delhi: Vinesh Phogat, who was given direct entry to the Asian Games, on Tuesday announced that she won't be able to compete at the quadrennial extravaganza in Hangzhou because of a knee injury, clearing the way for reserve Antim Panghal's inclusion in the squad.

Vinesh, who won a gold medal in the 2018 edition of the Games, said on X, formerly Twitter, that she suffered the injury on August 13 and will undergo a surgery on August 17 in Mumbai.

The development means that she will also miss next month's Olympic-qualifying World Championship, the trials for which are scheduled to be held on August 25-26 in Patiala.

"I wanted to share an extremely sad piece of news. A couple of days ago on 13th August 2023, I injured my left knee in training. After doing the scans and examinations, the doctor has said that unfortunately, surgery is the only option for me to recover," Phogat wrote.

"I will be undergoing surgery on 17th August in Mumbai. It was my dream to retain my Asian Games gold medal for India which I won in 2018 in Jakarta. But unfortunately, this injury has ruled out my participation now."

Panghal and Sujit Kalkal had dragged Vinesh and Bajrang Punia to court, challenging the direct entries handed to them for the Games but the High Court had dismissed their petition.

Panghal had won the 53kg trial while Vishal Kaliraman emerged winner in the 65kg category. Both of them were named as reserve players for the Games. (PTI)