New Delhi: Former Haryana Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupendra Singh Hooda on Thursday made a big statement about Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat. On the question of giving a ticket to Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat from the Congress party, he said that this is a 'hypothetical question'. Giving the example of sports culture in Haryana, Hooda said that in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the whole country got 36 medals, out of which 22 were from Haryana alone. The former Chief Minister of the state said that Vinesh Phogat should be sent to the Rajya Sabha.

'We respect the players and will continue to do so'

On the question of giving a ticket to Vinesh Phogat from Congress, Hooda said that players do not belong to any party, they belong to the whole country. He said, 'That is why we had demanded that Haryana and the Central Government should give them the same amount of prize money and respect as winning a gold medal in the Olympics. They should be sent to the Rajya Sabha. Their feelings have been hurt. They would have really won a gold medal. I believe that there have been some shortcomings somewhere. We respect players and will continue to do so. In the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the whole country got 36 medals, out of which 22 were from Haryana alone. Whereas, our population is only two percent of the country's population.'

'No discussion has taken place with me about giving the ticket'

Highlighting the excellent performance of Haryana players in the Olympic Games, Hooda said, 'We have got 6 Olympic medals, out of which four and a half are from Haryana. The question of giving tickets is 'hypothetical'. There has been no talk with me about this. I am talking about the respect of the players, so that the upcoming players can take inspiration from them.' Let us tell you that Vinesh Phogat was disqualified before the final match in the Paris Olympics 2024. Vinesh Phogat's weight was found to be 100 grams more than the prescribed limit in the 50 kg category.

'Vinesh Phogat has not got justice'

Phogat raised her voice against this decision and argued before the Court of Arbitration for Sports to jointly award the silver medal. The decision came on August 14 in the case and CAS rejected Phogat's appeal outright, after which her hopes of getting a silver medal in the Paris Olympics were dashed. Reacting to the Court of Arbitration rejecting Vinesh Phogat's plea, Hooda said that this is his job. He said, 'Vinesh Phogat has not got justice, now the Haryana government should honor Vinesh Phogat like a gold medalist.'