Paris Olympics: Heartbreak for India as Vinesh Phogat disqualified from final fight due to overweight issues

Vinesh Phogat’s Olympic medal dream is likely to be over. In a heartbreaking twist of fate for the Indian grappler, she missed the weight mark on the morning of the medal bout. As per the rules, wrestlers need to stay within their weight category on both days of the competition. As per reports, Phogat was approximately 2 kilograms overweight on Tuesday night. She didn’t sleep the whole night and did everything in her capacity to meet the criteria – from jogging to skipping and cycling.

Phogat’s disqualification has been confirmed by Indian Olympic Association, stating that the Indian grappler weighed a few grams more than permissible limit of 50kg.

“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,” IOC wrote in the statement.

🚨 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…

— Team India (@WeAreTeamIndia) August 7, 2024

“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,” IOC added.

Vinesh Phogat’s Paris Olympics journey

Phogat had made history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the final of the Olympics. Phogat started the campaign with a stunning win over the world number 1 and defending Olympic champion Yui Susaki of Japan. She followed it up with two more tactically brilliant wins over Oksana Vasylivna Livach of Ukraine and Cuba’s Yusneylys Guzman. She was set to face Sarah Hildebrandt in the final, a wrestler she has previously bested. However, due to the weight issue, Hildebrandt will be awarded the gold medal., the wrestler is likely to be disqualified from the 50kg gold medal bout after she could not make the weight on the morning of her bout at Paris Olympics 2024.

(The article is published under a mutual content partnership arrangement betweenThe Free Press JournalandConnected to India)