If Olympic hope had a metric, it would be measured in grams.
A heart-warming story of hope, perseverance, and grit turned into heartbreak.
In a tragic twist of fate, wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified before the women’s 50kg freestyle final at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday after failing to make the weight by just 100 grams, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said.
Phogat, 29, was poised to lock horns with Sarah Hildebrandt of the United States for the gold medal.
“It is with regret the Indian contingent shares news of the disqualification of Vinesh from the women’s wrestling 50kg class. Despite the best efforts by the team through the night, she weighed in a few grams more this morning,” the IOA said in a statement.
“No further comments will be made by the contingent at this time. The Indian team requests you to respect Vinesh’s privacy. It would like to focus on the competitions on hand,” it added.
According to the rules, if an athlete does not attend or fails the weigh-in, he/she will be eliminated from the competition and eliminated without rank.
On Wednesday, Vinesh found herself being admitted to a clinic in the Games Village after complaining of dehydration.
“Her nutritionist felt that the usual amount she takes is 1.5kg totally over the day, which gives her energy for the bouts. Sometimes, there is a factor of rebound weight gain following a competition. She had three bouts on Tuesday to prevent dehydration, for which some amount of water had to be given,” India’s Olympic contingent’s chief medical officer, Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala said.
“We found her post-participation weight had increased more than normal and the coach initiated the normal process of weight cut that he always used with Vinesh. Overnight, we went ahead with the weight-cut procedure. Despite all efforts, we found Vinesh’s weight was 100 grams more. We even tried cutting her hair. After disqualification, she was administered intravenous fluids to prevent dehydration,” he added.
After fighting three bouts on Tuesday, Vinesh was 2kg overweight. In the next 12 hours, she and her team of physios worked hard to shed it, but during the time of the weigh-in, she was found marginally overweight.
It capped a dramatic 24 hours for the star Indian grappler, who on Tuesday walked out of the Champ-de-Mars Arena, quelling Yui Susaki, considered the Gold Standard in female wrestling, and someone who had not tasted defeat in 95 bouts.
Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who lost to Vinesh in the semifinal, replaced the disqualified Indian in the final.
Vinesh’s road to Paris was fraught with hurdles. She spent most of last year leading protests on the streets of Delhi against sexual harassment allegations in the sport.
A year ago, Vinesh’s wrestling career was literally on the mat. With barely months to go for the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, she suffered a knee injury.
The tear in her anterior cruciate ligament would end her Asiad dreams.
With a young grappler named Antim Panghal looming on the horizon in the 53kg category, Vinesh had to wrestle with a difficult decision.
Vinesh decided to move down to 50kg.
She wrestled at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in the 48kg category. She was only 22 then. With age, it becomes harder for athletes to maintain their weight.
Three years ago, in Tokyo, she competed in the 53kg category.
This was by no means a smooth transition for her.
It would mean competing against wrestlers against whom she had never competed before.
She had to work harder on her fitness levels so that she remained at the top of her game against quicker and more agile wrestlers in this category.
“Having competed in the 53kg category for such a considerable period, it was a difficult decision to shift to a lower weight category. Nevertheless, she did a marvellous job in maintaining that level till today,” says VN Prasood, the former secretary general of the Wrestling Federation of India.
IOA President PT Usha said the Wrestling Federation of India has applied to the United World Wrestling and was following up in the “strongest possible manner.”
“We are providing Vinesh with all the medical and emotional support,” Usha added.
PM offers support
Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered support to Vinesh.
“Vinesh, you are a champion among champions! You are India’s pride and an inspiration for each and every Indian. Today’s setback hurts. I wish words could express the sense of despair that I am experiencing,” he posted on X.
“At the same time, I know that you epitomise resilience. It has always been your nature to take challenges head on. Come back stronger! We are all rooting for you,” he added.
First Published: Aug 07 2024 | 5:44 PM IST
