In a shocking turn of events, Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the Paris Olympics 2024 after the wrestler was found overweight ahead of her women’s 50kg final. On August 6, Vinesh became the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the gold medal bout. “She was found overweight by 100gm this morning. The rules do not allow this and she has been disqualified,” said her coach.
This development means Phogat will not be awarded the silver medal either. According to the weigh-in rules by United World Wrestling, “If an athlete does not attend or fail the weigh-in, he/ she will be eliminated of the competition and ranked last, without rank.”
It is to be noted that, Vinesh usually competes in the 53kg category but brought her weight down to 50kg for the Paris Olympics. On Day 2 of her weigh-in, however, Vinesh was found weighing over the desired limit.
Vinesh reportedly tried to do all she could to come under the desired weight, be it skipping meals, or running. She didn’t sleep the entire night, hoping to fall under the weight category. The Indian officials has also asked the Olympic committee for more time but the efforts went in vain.
The Indian coach revealed that Vinesh was found overweight by just 100gm on Wednesday morning. Though the margin was small, the rules do not allow for an exception to be made.
As a result of Vinesh’s disqualification, she will not win any medal in the Paris Games. Though Vinesh was assured of a silver, her disqualification means that she would need to return home empty-handed.
Earlier on August 6, in an historic match, Vinesh Phogat defeated Yusneylis Guzman Lopez (Cuba) 5-0 to enter Olympics 2024 women’s wrestling 50kg final. With this Vinesh became the first Indian woman to enter wrestling final at the Olympics.
She also stunned world no. 1 and defending champion Yui Susaki of Japan in the Round of 16, before edging out Ukraine Oksana Livach in the quarterfinals.
Phogat’s victory was significant as Yui Susaki had not conceded a single point on her way to winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics. Before this match, Susaki had lost only three times in her entire career, with Vinesh handing her the fourth defeat. Susaki had not lost a match in international wrestling and was 82-0 up before her bout with Phogat.
Notably, Vinesh was the medal contender at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 for India. Her campaign in 2016 came to an end due to a career-threatening injury during the tournament while she missed out on a medal in Tokyo and later revealed that she was managing another injury during the tournament.
Meanwhile, India’s ‘Golden Boy’ Neeraj Chopra entered the men’s javelin throw final after a season best attempt of 89.34m.
