Vinesh Phogat. (Photo Source: David Ramos/Getty Images)
Vinesh Phogat made all the heads turn with her final run in the Paris Olympics 2024 50kg freestyle wrestling category. She defeated the four-time Olympic champion, Yui Susaki of Japan to orchestrate the biggest upset of the Olympics. She then pinned down Ukraine’s Oksana Livach to storm through the semi-final and defeated Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez as she became the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the final at the Olympics.
But Wednesday turned out to be a nightmare for Indian fans back home and the supporters of resilient Phogat. The 29-year-old usually fought her matches in the 53kg freestyle category but had changed the category for her last Olympic appearance, stated by herself. She was about to face USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt in the final but was found overweight by just 100 grams.
According to the rules, if a wrestler fails the weigh-in on either day of the competition (preliminaries, repêchage, and final rounds), he/she will be eliminated from the event. As part of this procedure, when Phogat was weighed early in the morning, she weighed 100 grams more than the prescribed 50 kg weight for the final tussle. It is worth noting that, Phogat was unseeded (not ranked) and won three bouts (fights) to make it to the historic final.
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“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,” the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said in a statement.
Here’s how the cricketing community reacted to Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification:
A few meters, seconds, or grams can mean the difference between a nation celebrating you or forgetting you in a week, making you a symbol of sympathy. Athletes don’t need that ,they need respect. We must change our mindset towards sporting losses. #respect 🫶🏻
— Shreevats goswami (@shreevats1) August 7, 2024
Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification from the Olympics is heartbreaking. Her hard work and dedication deserved better. Stay strong, champion.#olympics #Paris2024
— Mohammed Azharuddin (@azharflicks) August 7, 2024
Vinesh phOGat- you are the OG of wrestling 🔥🇮🇳
you have already won a billion hearts and YOU ARE A CHAMP! Keep inspiring!
Bounce back stronger 💪🏻@Phogat_Vinesh
— Mayank Agarwal (@mayankcricket) August 7, 2024