Indian wrestling fraternity woke up to the tragic news of Geeta and Babita Phogat's cousin sister Ritika Phogat's demise. She died by suicide, according to a report in India Today. Ritika Phogat ended her life after allegedly losing a wrestling tournament final by just one point, in Bharatpur. Ritika was 17 years old. According to reports, she lost her state-level sub-junior, junior women and men’s wrestling tournament final by just one point. She allegedly hung herself to death after that.
Ritika had been trained for wrestling at the Mahavir Phogat Sports Academy in Haryana. The report quotes Haryana's Charkhi Dadri District Superintendent of Police Ram Singh Bishnoi saying that the investigation is underway. “Ritika, wrestler and cousin of Babita Phogat, died allegedly by suicide on March 17. The reason behind it might have been her defeat at a recent wrestling tournament in Rajasthan. Investigation underway," he said.
Former Chief of Army Staff, Gen Vijay Kumar Singh confirmed the news of her suicide as he tweeted, “Terrible news that we lost #RitikaPhogat who had a brilliant career ahead. The world has changed from where it was some decades ago. Athletes are facing pressures which were not there earlier. An essential part of their training should be to deal with these pressures.”
Terrible news that we lost #RitikaPhogat who had a brilliant career ahead. The world has changed from where it was some decades ago. Athletes are facing pressures which were not there earlier. An essential part of their training should be to deal with these pressures.
— Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) March 18, 2021
Ritu Phogat's Instagram story
Image Source: Twitter