India’s ace woman wrestler Vinesh Phogat, despite making history by becoming the first Indian woman to enter the final of Olympic wrestling, was knocked out of the 50 kg freestyle wrestling category just for being 100 grams overweight. Her exit from the contest nullified the assured silver that was in her pocket.
Heart breaking moment for India’s ace grappler Vinesh Phoghat, who was disqualified on Wednesday from the 50 kg freestyle wrestling for being overweight by some grams after having qualified for the gold medal bout.
Disqualified for Overweight
“It is with regret that the Indian contingent shares news of the disqualification of Vinesh Phoghat from the Women’s Wrestling 50 kg class. Despite the best efforts by the team through the night, she weighed in a few grams over 50 kg this morning,” the IOA stated.
“No further comments will be made by the contingent at this time. The Indian team requests you respect Vinesh’s privacy. It would like to focus on the competitions on hand,” IOA continued.
Phoghat was about 100 grams over the allowed limit, due to which she got disqualified. She tried all she could do to come under the desired weight—skipping, running, and cycling. She also skipped her meals and stayed awake the whole night in the hope of falling under the weight category. The Indian officials also requested more time from the Olympic committee; all efforts went in vain.
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The coach of India revealed that “she was found to be overweight by 100 gm this morning. The rules prohibit this, so she has been disqualified.”
This will not be the first time for Phoghat to miss the weight limit for the 50 kg category, a class below her usual 53 kg. She has missed a similar obstacle at the Olympic Qualifiers for having barely passed the weigh-in.
Due to the disqualification, Phoghat is not going to win any medals in the Paris Games. Though she was assured of a silver, her disqualification meant that she would need to return home empty-handed.
Historic Victory shattered
Probably the toughest bout in the Paris Games for Phogat was against Japanese wrestler Yui Susaki, a fine wrestler who never lost any bout in her international career and happened to be a four-time world Olympic champion. Off-field struggles seemed to help her draw power and use a perfect game plan, stunning the reigning Olympic champion for one of the Games’ greatest upsets.
Phoghat defeated Oksana Livach of Ukraine to confirm a semi-final berth in the 50 kg freestyle women’s wrestling. A tear or two rolled down her cheek, but the job wasn’t done yet. In the semifinals, she outmuscled Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez to confirm a medal and become the first Indian woman wrestler to reach an Olympic final.
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About the Author
Ms Tanishq Priya is a postgraduate student in journalism at the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai. She is passionate about providing news to the public in an informative accessible style. She has also enhanced her writing and research abilities.
