Vinesh shouldn't have joined politics now, aimed for gold in 2028: Mahavir

Olympian Vinesh Phogat's uncle and celebrated wrestling coach Mahavir Phogat said her niece should not have joined politics at this stage and aimed for an Olympic gold in 2028, days after the Congress fielded her from Julana for the October 5 Haryana assembly polls. Mahavir, whose Olympian daughter Babita Phogat joined the BJP ahead of the 2019 assembly elections, exuded confidence that the party will retain power in Haryana for a third time in a row. Babita, a Commonwealth Games medal-winner freestyle wrestler who inspired the Bollywood film 'Dangal', contested the 2019 polls unsuccessfully from Dadri. Asked about Vinesh taking the political plunge by joining the Congress, Mahavir, a Dronacharya awardee, told PTI over phone that "it is her decision...these days children take their own decisions." He also claimed that when he spoke with Vinesh recently she had no intentions of joining politics. Vinesh and Olympian wrestler Bajrang Punia, who were at the forefront of the wrestlers'