Wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who was on the cusp of clinching the gold medal for India at the Paris Olympics, has been disqualified on the morning of her much anticipated gold medal match over variations in her body weight for the 50-kg category. Vinesh had cut her weight from 53 kg to 50 kg to compete in the wrestling, but weighed a few grams overweight on the day of the match.
In an official statement, the Indian contingent said, “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 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.”
A source in the team said that Vinesh spent hours in the sauna and gym, without sleeping through the night. However, her weight was still a little above 50 kg.
Vinesh became the first Indian woman to march into the 50 kg freestyle event at the Paris Olympics, winning over Cuba's Yusneylys Guzman and Japan's hitherto undefeated Yui Susaki. Vinesh was one of the three Olympians who sat in protest of sexual harassment and systemic bias, along with many young wrestlers, against former BJP MP Brij Bhushan at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi for months before they were forcefully removed and detained by the Delhi police.
Vinesh has so far won several medals and titles, including bronze medals in the 2019 and 2022 World Championships, gold medals in three successive Commonwealth Games editions, bronze in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, and gold in Jakarta four years later besides several medals in the Asian Championships.