Phogat's cousin Ritika commits suicide after losing in the tournament

Today, a deeply saddening story has surfaced from the wrestling fraternity in India as the maternal cousin of Geeta and Babita Phogat, 17 years old Ritika Phogat reportedly committed suicide after losing a state-level wrestling tournament final in Bharatpur. It is reported that the cause behind Ritika suicide was the distress of losing in the match.

It is already known that wrestling runs in the Phogat family, with Geeta and Babita Phogat leading the charge. Moreover, there are several other members of the Phogat family who also earn their living by competing inside the wrestling ring.

Following this trend, Ritika was a state-level wrestler, and was participating in the state level, sub-junior, junior women's and men's wrestling tournament at Lohagarh Stadium in Bharatpur. The competition commenced on March 12, with the final scheduled on March 14. Although Ritika fought her way to the final of the tournament, however, lost the decider by the narrowest of margins. The shock of the failure triggered her to take the drastic decision of ending her life. Moreover, Mahavir Phogat, the father of the Phogat sisters, was also said to have been present at that tournament.

Thanks to the Dangal movie, the journey of Babita and Geeta Phogat is well known to Indians all across the country. And following the same track of success their younger sister Ritu Phogat also spotted plying her trade in MMA.

Geeta Phogat Tweeted an emotional post.

Ritu Phogat, another Phogat sister, who is an MMA wrestler, took to Twitter and posted Ritika's photo with an emotional note. "Rest in Peace choti behen Ritika. I still can't believe what just happened to you Will miss you forever. Om Shanti," Ritu tweeted.

Confirming the news on social media, Vijay Kumar Singh, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, 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 that were not there earlier. An essential part of their training should be to deal with these pressures.”