100gms that weighed down India’s wrestling gold hopes
PARIS: Vinesh Phogat, who confirmed a medal for India on Tuesday night by reaching the final, was disqualified from the Paris Olympics after weighing a few grams over her 50kg weight division in Wednesday’s morning weigh-in.
She will lose her confirmed medal, for which she was to fight for gold on Wednesday. It is understood that she was 100 grams over the permissible weight when she arrived for the morning weigh-in. Phogat was within the required weight on Tuesday, the first day of her bouts at these Olympics.
“It is with regret that the Indian contingent shares news of the disqualification of Vinesh Phogat from the Women’s Wrestling 50kg class,” the Indian Olympic Association (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. No further comments will be made by the contingent at this time.”
In a post on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Phogat a champion among champions and said come back stronger. “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. At the same time, I know that you epitomise resilience. It has always been your nature to take challenges head on,” he wrote. “We are all rooting for you.”
As per the rules, if an athlete fails at the weight-in (first or second), they “will be eliminated from the competition and ranked last”. Officials of the IOA contingent and medical team here and the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) tried to seek a bit more time and plead for their case but to no avail.
“We tried everything; asking them for a little more time or asking if there was any other way. But they said they have to abide by the rules. They are very strict about it,” said WFI secretary Sanjay Singh, who is in Paris.
It is learnt that after Phogat’s bouts on Tuesday—she fought three of them and beat the favourite Yui Susaki in the first round—she was overweight by a couple of kilograms by night. Phogat chose to drop down to compete in the 50kg category for this Olympics and her natural weight is around 55kg. The Indian wrestler was up all night trying to trim the extra kilos through several means but to no avail.
“She worked through the entire night for it,” Singh said. “Yes, she has been disqualified. She weighed 100 grams over her weight in the morning weight in,” India’s national coach Virendra Singh Dahiya said.
Phogat’s disqualification eliminates her from competition and moves Guzman Lopez into the final against American Sarah Hildebrandt, who defeated Mongolia’s Otgonjargal Dolgorjav 5-0 in the other semifinal.
There are two bronze medals awarded in each wresting weight classes. Phogat’s disqualification created a domino effect. Susaki, who lost to Phogat, had earned a spot in the repechage against Livach, with one needing to earn a spot in a bronze medal match. The Phogat-Livach match has been elevated to one of the two bronze medal matches. The other bronze match will match China’s Feng Ziqi and Dolgorjav — a pairing that was not impacted by Phogat’s disqualification.
It’s unclear if Phogat has ever been disqualified for not making weight. She had never placed higher than ninth at the Olympics or third at a world championship event before this impressive performance at the Paris Games.
In 2023, Phogat and other female wrestlers were detained by police in India’s capital city of New Delhi after they marched on parliament following allegations of sexual misconduct by people within the sport, including Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the president of the Wrestling Federation of India. Sanjay Kumar Singh later replaced him in the position.
Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Wednesday that the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has lodged a strong protest with the United World Wrestling (UWW) after Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the Paris Olympics for being “overweight” in the 50 kg category.
Making a statement in Lok Sabha, the minister listed the steps the government took to support her preparation. The members earlier voiced their concern over Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification ahead of her gold medal bout at the Olympics.
Mandaviya said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Indian Olympic Association President PT Usha and asked her to take necessary action.
“Today her weight was found 50 kg 100 grams and she was disqualified. The Indian Olympic Association has lodged a strong protest with the United World Wrestling (UWW). IOA President PT Usha is in Paris, the Prime Minister spoke to her and asked her to take necessary action,” the minister said, adding that the government provided every facility to her including personal staff.
Amid din in the House earlier over her disqualification, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said that the Sports Minister will make a statement.
A statement issued by the Indian Olympic contingent earlier said that Vinesh Phogat had tipped the scales above the 50 kg mark and was disqualified.
“It is with regret that the Indian contingent shares news of the disqualification of Vinesh Phogat 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. 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,” the statement read.
Vinesh Phogat had entered the Olympic final after beating Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez 5-0 in the semi-finals on Tuesday night.
After Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification, Yusneylis Guzman Lopez will be competing for the gold against United States’s Sarah Ann Hildebrandt.