Soumitra Bose At The Olympics
Paris:In less than 12 hours, Vinesh Phogat’s world turned upside down at the Paris Olympics. After becoming the first Indian woman to enter the gold-medal round at an Olympics to being disqualified for being overweight, Vinesh’s shocking exit got an entire nation talking.
From a politically motivated sabotage to pure mismanagement by Vinesh’s support team, several angles did the rounds after the Indian Olympic Association broke the news to journalists covering the Paris Olympics that Vinesh, playing her third straight Olympics, had been disqualified for being overweight. Stuck at three medals – all bronze – Indians were hoping for at least the first silver of Paris 2024 from wrestling, but only just.
In an early morning statement, the IOA 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.” The weigh-in usually happens between 8 and 8.30 am.
Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, Chief Medical Officer of Indian contingent at the Paris Olympics, said, “Vinesh had three bouts, and hence, small amounts of water had to be given to prevent dehydration. Herpost participation weight was found to be increased. The coach initiated the normal process of weight cut that he has always employed with Vinesh and felt confident thatit would be achieved.”
WHAT ARE THE RULES
Article 11 of the international wrestling rules that (i) If an athlete does not attend or fail the weigh-in (the 1st or the 2nd weigh-in), she/he will be eliminated from the competition and ranked last, without rank and (ii) If one (or more) athletes qualified for the repechages and/or finals don’t attend or fail the weigh-in, the athlete(s) (who successfully passed the second weigh-in) will move to the next round in his (their) part of the bracket. Under these rules, Guzman will wrestle for gold while Vinesh’s results will be disqualified. The 50kg bronze medal bout will be between Susaki (Japan) and Livach (Ukraine)
–Statement made by The United World Wrestling, which runs the sport
Vinesh appeals for joint silver
Vinesh Phogat has appealed against her disqualification at Court of Arbitration for Sport. Vinesh prayed to be reinstated for the gold medal match and then modified her plea to ask for a shared silver. CAS will decide tomorrow.
“However, Vinesh was found to be 100 grams over her 50 kg weight category, and hence, she was disqualified. All possible drastic measures, including cutting off her hair, were used. However, she was not below her allowed weight of 50 kg,” Dr Pardiwala said.
Unconfirmed reports said there were plans to draw blood to reduce weight. These horrifying measures only reflect the pain and mental agony high-performance athletes go through. Even her hair was cut to shed a few grams because every gram counts
As a precautionary measure, Vinesh was administered IV fluids following disqualification to prevent dehydration. At a local hospital, blood tests were performed to ensure all was well. There was certainly no sabotage but some degree of miscalculation by her support team, led by experienced coach Woller Akos, certainly cost Vinesh, former Commonwealth Games champion, that elusive Olympic medal.
29-year-old Vinesh became the hot topic of discussion after she stunned four-time world champion and defending Olympic champion Yui Susaki in a pre-quarterfinal match in the 50 kg freestyle category.
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Vinesh only got better. She stormed into the final against USA’s Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Sarah Hildebrandt on the back of two more stunning wins. Vinesh defeated reigning Pan American Games champion Yusneylis Guzman of Cuba in the semi-finals after getting the better of former European champion Oksana Livach of Ukraine in the quarter-finals.
The IOA and Wrestling Federation of India’s plans to protest Vinesh’s disqualification produced no positive result.
Vinesh’s march to a possible gold medal was seen from two perspectives. First, it was redemption for failures at two earlier Olympics, especially Tokyo 2020, where she lost in the quarterfinals despite being the favourite in the 53kg weight category. Vinesh was pulled for perceived “indiscipline” by the Wrestling Federation of India and was even driven to premature retirement.
Vinesh made a stunning comeback in the national trials after cutting her weight to be able to participate at Paris 2020. Her victories in Paris, each crafted with superior technical ability, was also seen as a fitting riposte to former WFI president and BJP heavyweight Brij Bhushan Saran Singh.
Vinesh was among several Olympians who had alleged allegations of sexual molestation against Brij Bhushan.
The many dramatic protests earlier this year at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar made no impact. Sordid pictures of Olympians, including Vinesh and Sakshi Malik, the only other woman Olympic medal winner, being manhandled by Delhi Police, only showed the dark side of Indian wrestling and the political slugfest to control a national federation.