In a major blow to India’s medal hopes, Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat has been disqualified from the Paris Olympics. Notably, during the weigh-in for her gold medal bout against US wrestler Sarah Hildebrandt, she was found 100 grams over the allowed weight limit for wrestlers in the 50 kg freestyle category, resulting in her disqualification. Following her disqualification, the US wrestler will take away the gold medal while Phogat will be leaving the Paris Olympics without a medal.
Earlier in the day, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) updated the country about this shocking development and asked everyone to respect Vinesh’s privacy. In a statement, the IOA said, “It is with regret that the Indian contingent shares the news of Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification from the Women’s Wrestling 50 kg class. Despite the team’s efforts through the night, she was a few grams over 50 kg this morning. No further comments will be made by the contingent at this time. The Indian team requests respect for Vinesh’s privacy and will focus on the ongoing competitions.”
🚨 It is with regret that the Indian contingent shares news of the disqualification of Vinesh Phogat from the Women’s Wrestling 50kg class. Despite the best efforts by the team through the night, she weighed in a few grams over 50kg this morning. No further comments will be made…
— Team India (@WeAreTeamIndia) August 7, 2024
Following the development, PM Narendra Modi spoke to IOA President PT Usha and asked her to file a strong protest regarding her disqualification and find all options to help Vinesh’s case.
PM Narendra Modi spoke to IOA President PT Usha and sought first-hand information from her on the issue and the options India has in the wake of Vinesh's setback. He asked her to explore the full range of options to help Vinesh’s case. He also urged PT Usha to file a strong… pic.twitter.com/qlGivfAXqL
— ANI (@ANI) August 7, 2024
Vinesh, you are a champion among champions! You are India's pride and an inspiration for each and every Indian.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 7, 2024
Today's setback hurts. I wish words could express the sense of despair that I am experiencing.
At the same time, I know that you epitomise resilience. It has always…
However, according to the rules of the United World Wrestling (UWW), “If an athlete does not attend or fails the weigh-in, he/she will be eliminated from the competition and ranked last without rank.”
According to media reports, Vinesh Phogat and the Indian contingent were aware of it and had made all the possible efforts to meet the weight criteria before the weigh-in for her gold medal bout. But Phogat, who was within the weight limit for her Tuesday’s bouts, failed to remain within the weight limit of her category on both days of the competition. Notably, all the bouts in her weight category were to be completed in two days. As per reports, she was around 2 Kgs above the weight limit on Tuesday night.
Consequently, Vinesh and the Indian contingent made several efforts to bring her weight down like strenuous exercising and she reportedly didn’t sleep throughout the night. This also included taking some extreme measures like cutting her hair, trimming her clothes, even trying to draw out blood. She attempted to lose weight through sweats by sitting in the sauna throughout the night.
However, despite all the strenuous and best efforts by Phogat, her coaches and Indian support staff, she could not bring her weight to the allowed limit. While the weight did come down by around 2 kg, it was still around 100 grams above the limit.
Vinesh Phogat didn't sleep all night, working tirelessly to shed 2 kg for the final, but missed the mark by just 100 grams. Now she’s hospitalized. This is perhaps the most cruel and heartbreaking incident in Indian sports history. 💔 #VineshPhogat #Olympics2024 pic.twitter.com/4hOgziQ2J1
— Akshay Pratap Singh (@akshay_1111997) August 7, 2024
Furthermore, the Indian contingent had requested the officials to give some additional time in which she could have met the weight criteria but the officials denied India’s request.
According to media reports, minutes after the officials disqualified her, she fainted due to dehydration and had to be hospitalised. Currently, she is in the polyclinic of the Olympic Village and her health parameters are stable and is resting.
Stop this conspiracy theory. Gagan Narang, Dinshaw Pardiwala, her husband, physios , medical staff, IOA officials, people back in India, OGQ they worked through the night to cut her weight. Dr Pardiwala even said we cannot endanger her life. @WIONews
— Digvijay Singh Deo (@DiggySinghDeo) August 7, 2024
Vinesh Phogat had secured a place in 50 kg category for Olympic qualification tournament in a controversy-laced trials as she decided to compete in two weight categories against UWW rules
It is, however, pertinent to note that Phogat previously used to compete in the 53 kg weight category. But during the time she was off the mat for more than one-and-a-half years due to injuries and the protests against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Antim Panghal secured an Olympic quota for India in the 53kg category.
She then decided to switch to the lighter weight – 50 kg category – to ensure her place in the Olympics. But ever since then, she has been struggling to maintain her weight below the allowed limit for several months now. Her normal weight is 56 kg, and while she manages to bring it below 53 kg, reducing it by further 3 kg is a big challenge.
Incidentally, she faced similar issues during the Olympic qualifiers in the 50 kg weight division. Strikingly, dramatic scenes had unfolded during the wrestling trials after she delayed the selection trials in the women’s 50 kg and 53 kg categories. She didn’t let the trials to start and demanded that the ad-hoc committee of the IOC should give a written assurance that the final trials in the 53kg weight class will be held before the Olympics.
Apart from demanding written assurance from the authorities, she didn’t let the competition start as she also sought permission to compete in both 50kg and 53kg trials which is not permitted under the UWW rules. However, other wrestlers who were slated to compete in the 50 kg category protested and complained to the officials regarding the delay.
Incidentally, she had turned up at the SAI centre to compete in the 50 kg trials but decided to participate in two weight categories at the Olympic trials, which led to controversies as Article 7 of (UWW) clearly states that a contestant can be allowed to take part only in one weight category on a single day.
It rules, ”Each contestant deemed to be taking part of his/her own free will, and responsible for himself/herself, shall be allowed to compete in only one weight category: the one corresponding to his weight at the time of the official weigh-in.”
Conspicuously, the development unfolded even though the IOA ad-hoc panel had already announced that a final trial would be held for India’s representative in the 53 kg category at the Olympics. The best four wrestlers in the 53kg weight category were bound to compete in trials near the Games and the winner would then have competed with Antim Panghal. The winner of that bout was slated to represent India.
Back then, a coach present during the trials had said, ”Vinesh wants an assurance from the government. Probably she fears that if WFI gets back the control, the federation may change the selection policy. But how can the government give assurance on this? The government can’t interfere in selection matters.”
Nonetheless, when the ad-hoc committee for wrestling acceded to her demand, Vinesh defeated Shivani 11-6 in the 50 kg weight category and secured a place in the Paris Olympics Qualification tournament in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. However, she lost the 53kg bout to Anju by technical superiority 0-10.
Doctors and she herself admitted maintaining lighter weight would be tough for her
While after the bizarre delay and dramatic selection trials, she secured a place for herself in the 50 kg qualification tournament for the Olympics, Phogat had admitted earlier this year that it would be tough for her to maintain her weight as she has very high muscle mass. She noted that because she has high muscle mass, she gains weight easily. Additionally, as per reports, her usual weight is around 56 kg.
After winning the 50kg quota for India, she had said, “I will have to manage my weight a lot better. I have brought myself down to 50kg after so long so I will try and maintain this as much as I can. It’s not easy for me not to put on weight because my muscle mass is very high.”
She further added, “Because of that, I gain weight easily. It doesn’t matter how fit I am, I still gain weight because I have a lot of muscle mass. I just want to control my weight. I have four months left, and every day is very important.”
Last year, in August, she underwent a ligament tear surgery and during that time, her weight reportedly reached 59 kgs. However, for the Olympic quota of 50 kgs, she reduced her food and water intake considerably even after the doctors had advised her against it as sudden weight loss could lead to weakness and injuries. But she competed in the 50 kg category and had a spectacular outing at the Olympics till Tuesday night.
During this Olympic stint, she had reached the finals in this weight division, defeating four time world champion and reigning Olympic Gold medalist but on the last day of the event, she failed to bring her weight down below the allowed limit for one final time, ending up in her disqualification and a major setback for India.
Talking to BBC Hindi yesterday, her fellow wrestler Bajrang Punia had talked about the challenges Phogat is facing in maintaining weight. He said that losing weight for women is more difficult compared to men because men sweat easily. He said that she is taking limited food and water for the last few months in an attempt to keep her weight below 50kg.
