Vinesh Phogat, who created history by qualifying herself as the first Indian woman wrestler to reach an Olympic final, was later on disqualified from the women’s 50kg gold medal bout in the ongoing Paris Olympics. The disqualification occurred just a few hours before her bout against the American wrestler Sarah Hildebrandt at the Champ-de-Mars Arena due to Phogat’s overweighting.
Phogat, a 29-year-old wrestler originating from Haryana, was sensational in her run to the finals. She overcame many adversities to win a place at the Paris Olympics. She produced a remarkable passage to the final against the collapsing champion and world number one, Yui Susaki of Japan. However, on the morning of the final, she was discovered to have exceeded the allowed 50 kgs by 100 – 150 grams.
The rules of competition imply that wrestlers weigh themselves in the morning and before the holding of the preliminary and final rounds, respectively. Even though during one point of the week, that is, Tuesday, Phogat was in the right weight Category, she used up a lot of energy as she had three fights on the same day. She could not manage to reduce her weight by any technique known to her, including jogging, skipping, cycling, having a particular diet, taking blood from her head to the kitchen, and even cutting her hair and yet she was just 150 grams above the weight of her fellow teammates.
In the case of the United World Wrestling (UWW), specifically in Article 11 of the rule book, missing the weight limit leads to removal from the competition. Therefore, Phogat will not be able to challenge for the gold belt and, as a consequence, will not be presented with an Olympic belt. The technical delegate for UWW clarified that the repechage bout between Yui Susaki and Oksana Livach of Ukraine would be the bronze medal contest, not the qualifying bout. Thus, in the same way, the Spanish wrestler Guzman Lopez Yusneylis, who lost in the semifinals to an Indian girl, Phogat, will fight in the final.
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