Tragedy: Vinesh Phogat Disqualified From Gold Medal Bout Against US Wrestler

Photo: Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

PARIS, (REUTERS/ANI) – Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified just hours before the women’s 50kg freestyle final at the Paris Olympics on August 7 after failing to make weight, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said.

Phogat had been set to lock horns with Sarah Hildebrandt of the United States for the gold medal. The disqualification means she will not receive a medal of any color.

Vinesh Phogat had entered the Gold Medal bout after beating Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez 5-0 in the semi-finals on August 6 night.

“It is with regret that the Indian contingent shares news of the disqualification of Vinesh Phogat from the women’s wrestling 50kg class,” the IOA said in a statement. “Despite the best efforts by the team through the night, she weighed in a few grams over 50kg this morning.”

The Chief Medical Officer of the Indian Olympic contingent, Dinshaw Pardiwala, said that they had to take some “drastic measures,” like cutting off her hair.

He said the whole team was awake the whole night trying to reduce Vinesh’s weight, and had they got a few hours more, they would have achieved the required weight category.

Pardiwala said that after Vinesh’s bout in the semi-final, she gained 2.7 kg more than the allowed weight. He further confirmed that after Vinesh Phogat gained weight, the Indian wrestler’s doctor started to reduce her weight by limiting water and food.

“So, the whole night, the entire team went ahead with this whole process of trying to reduce her weight, putting her in a steam and sauna, making her exercise and whatever was medically possible. We tried our best to try and get that weight down. When she couldn’t sweat anymore, we even had to go to some drastic measures like cutting off her hair,” he added.

Pardiwala further said that after Vinesh was disqualified, precautionary measures were taken to rehydrate her.

The news brought an outpouring of sympathy for her compatriots, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi describing her as a “champion among champions.”

“You are India’s pride and an inspiration for each and every Indian,” Modi said.

“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 epitomize resilience. It has always been your nature to take challenges head on.”

Phogat was one of several Indian wrestlers who came out in protest last year seeking criminal action against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, then chief of the Wrestling Federation of India and a part of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

The situation has spilled over into the political arena with the opposition and BJP now quarreling over how Phogat was treated at and before the Olympics.