The remarkable wrestler Vinesh Phogat had increased her brand value three times after returning from the Paris Olympics, 2024. Despite making it to the final of the women’s 50kg freestyle wrestling competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics, veteran Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat was not awarded a medal. India was devastated to learn that Vinesh had been disqualified from the vent because to a weight inaccuracy of only 100 grams.
Vinesh’s demand increased for the role as a brand ambassador. As per Economic Times, her fees for an endorsement agreement has reportedly climbed significantly compared to what she would have charged for commercials prior to the Paris Games. Before the 2024 Olympics, Vinesh reportedly demanded a cost of about INR 25 lakh for each endorsement contract. These days, she demands a fee of about INR 75 lakh to 1 crore from a single brand promotion, which is three times more. Other athletes, such as Manu Bhaker recently signed a deal of INR 1.5 crore with ThumbsUp. Previously, she used to charge about INR 25 lakh for a single endorsement agreement, which is six time less than now.
Vinesh filed a challenge against the judgement at the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS), raising hopes of receiving a silver medal, that ruling also went against her. Back home, Vinesh is still regarded as a winner even if her career took a very dramatic and sad turn after the Paris Games.
Few day’s back, Vinesh’s coach Woller Akos wrote on a Facebook post (now deleted), how she did intense 5 hour workout to loose 100 grams extra . He quoted, “After the semi-final, 2.7 kg of excess weight was left; we exercised for one hour and twenty minutes, but 1.5 kg still remained. Later, after 50 minutes of sauna, not a drop of sweat appeared on her. There was no choice left, and from midnight to 5:30 in the morning, she worked on different cardio machines and wrestling moves, about three-quarters of an hour at one go, with two-three minutes of rest. Then she started again. She collapsed, but somehow we got her up, and she spent an hour in the sauna. I don’t intentionally write dramatic details, but I only remember thinking that she might die.”