A photo of Indian wrestler Sangeeta Phogat after her 10-0 defeat against US wrestler Jennifer Page Rogers during a wrestling event in Hungary is being shared with the false claim that she lost the series and mocking her for protesting against Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh who has been accused of sexual harassment.
BOOM found that the claim that she lost the series is misleading as Phogat made a remarkable comeback after the first defeat by clinching a bronze medal in the 59 kg category at the Budapest Ranking Series 2023 held on July 15, 2023.
A Delhi Court yesterday granted interim bail to Brij Bhushan Singh and his aide Vinod Tomar in the case where Indian women wrestlers have alleged sexual harassment against them. Sangeeta Phogat along with Sakshee Malik and Bajrang Punia had protested at Jantar Mantar in Delhi against Singh on the issue of him allegedly sexually assaulting female wrestlers.
The viral post is being shared with the caption, "In Hungary, the protestor lost by 10-0"
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The same graphic is being shared widely on Facebook with the false claim.
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral claim is false and Indian wrestler Sangeeta Phogat secured bronze after her initial defeat in the first round at the Budapest Ranking Series 2023. Phogat also dedicated her victory to those fighting crime against women.
Phogat made a remarkable comeback by clinching a bronze medal in the 59 kg category at the Budapest Ranking Series 2023 held on July 15, 2023, reported Mint.
Phogat had started the tournament with a defeat against US's Jennifer Page Rogers in the first round. The viral photo of Phogat's defeat in the first round is being shared with the false claim that she lost in the Hungary series. After that Phogat bounced back with a resounding victory over another American wrestler, Brenda Olivia Reyna, in round three, clinching the win via technical superiority.
In the semi-finals, Phogat suffered a 6-4 defeat to Magdalena Urszula Glodek of Poland and entered the bronze-medal match. Sangeeta ended the meet on a remarkable note as she clinched the bronze play-off with a 6-2 win over Hungarian Viktoria Borsos, who is the U-20 World Championship silver medallist reported TOI.
All the match results of Phogat can be seen on the website of United World Wrestling below:
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After her bronze victory, Phogat tweeted on July 15, 2023, with the caption when translated reads, "Messages of congratulations from all of you are reaching me, I am very emotional at this moment. Many thanks to all of you. This medal is not mine only. all are medals for all of you. I dedicate this medal to all the fighting women of the world who are fighting against crimes against women"
Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur also tweeted on July 16, 2023, congratulating Phogat.