‘Despite the disappointment, I will learn from this and continue to fight with the same passion and determination. Thank you to everyone who supported me through this journey’
By Rashi Gupta
I gave everything to reach this moment, and it’s heartbreaking to come this close and have it all slip away due to a weight discrepancy. Despite the disappointment, I will learn from this and continue to fight with the same passion and determination. Thank you to everyone who supported me through this journey.
— Vinesh Phogat
The Paris Olympics, which were expected to be the high point of Vinesh Phogat’s spectacular wrestling career, took a tragic turn when she was disqualified from the women’s 50 kg freestyle final. This eye-opening disclosure occurred after she was discovered to be 100 grams overweight, leaving her without a medal and terminating her historic journey to the gold medal match.
Vinesh made history at the Paris Olympics by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the final in her category. Her road to the final was nothing short of incredible.
She defeated reigning world champion, Yui Susaki of Japan, in the first round. This was Susaki’s first international setback since her undefeated performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Vinesh continued her strong form, defeating Ukraine’s Oksana Livach in the quarterfinals and Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez in the semifinals. Her success had already guaranteed her a silver medal, with the entire nation banking on her winning an unprecedented gold.
However, the joy was unexpectedly cut short when she was disqualified few hours before the final. Despite her team’s best attempts to control her weight, she was determined to be 100 grams over the 50kg limit during the second-day weigh-in.
According to International Wrestling Rules, any athlete found to be overweight, during the weigh-in, is disqualified and ranks last. The sadness was worsened by the fact that she had come so close to earning a historic gold for India.
Vinesh was saddened by her disqualification, and she had to be transported to the polyclinic in the Games village owing to extreme dehydration. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) asked privacy for the wrestler, recognizing the sensitivity of the circumstances.
“It is with disappointment that the Indian contingent announces Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification from the women’s 50kg wrestling division. Despite the team’s best efforts during the night, she weighed in a few grams over than 50kg this morning,” the IOA said.
Her disqualification allowed Cuban wrestler, Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, whom she had defeated in the quarterfinals, to take her position in the final. This abrupt alteration not only affected the final rankings, but, also, decreased the number of bronze medals awarded in the 50kg category from four to three.
The incident has highlighted the enormous difficulties wrestlers confront in maintaining their weight, especially in high-stakes tournaments such as the Olympics. Her natural body weight is around 56-57kg, and it takes a lot of effort to get it down to 50kg. Wrestlers frequently go without food and water for days before the weigh-in to satisfy the rigorous weight limits, which is both physically and mentally exhausting.
Her disqualification is a sobering reminder of the razor-thin margins that may make or break an athlete’s career at the exclusive level. Despite her brave attempts and historic exploits, her Paris Olympics experience ended in despair.
“The doctor said that unfortunately, surgery is the only option for me to recover… It was my dream to retain my Asian Games gold medal for India which I won in 2018 at Jakarta. Unfortunately, this injury has ruled out my participation now,” Vinesh Phogat said.