Your medal calls for celebrations, not apology: PM Modi tells Pooja Gehlot after her bronze win at CWG 2022

Indian wrestler Pooja Gehlot was in tears after settling for bronze in the women’s 50kg category at the Commonwealth Games 2022 on Saturday (August 07). Gehlot extended India’s dominance in wrestling at this year’s Games but failed to clinch the elusive gold medal after losing against Canada’s Madison Bianca Parks in the semi-final at the Birmingham Games.

Nonetheless, she won her bronze medal clash and managed to finish on the podium. However, she was in tears and inconsolable as she apologised to her compatriots and the rest of the country for failing to reach the final and battling it out for the elusive gold medal. She got emotional speaking at a press conference following her bronze medal win.

“I apologise to my compatriots. I wished that the National Anthem be played here… But I will learn from my mistakes, and work on them,” an emotional Gehlot told ANI.

Also Read: India’s schedule at CWG 2022 on August 7: Indian women’s cricket team, Nikhat Zareen eye gold

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi consoled the 25-year-old wrestler after her bronze medal feat and said her medal calls for celebration and not an apology. The Prime Minister also had some more encouraging words for the young wrestler.

“Pooja, your medal calls for celebrations, not an apology. Your life journey motivates us, your success gladdens us. You are destined for great things ahead…keep shining!,” PM Modi wrote in a tweet reacting to the video of Gehlot crying and apologising after winning bronze.

Gehlot kicked off her campaign at the Commonwealth Games 2022 with a win over Scotland’s Christelle Lemofack Letchidjio before she was handed a walkover ahead of her match against Cameron’s Rebecca Ndolo Muambo to reach the semi-final. She was up against Parks in the semi and ended up losing to miss out on a spot in the final.

Also Read: CWG 2022: Vinesh Phogat clinches gold in women’s 53kg, completes hat-trick of top podium finishes

She won her bronze medal match 12-2 by technical superiority to secure a podium finish and extend India’s medal tally at the Games. The bronze medal at CWG 2022 is the first major international medal of her career. India won three bronze and three gold medals in wrestling at CWG 2022 on Saturday.