Vinesh Phogat missed a medal in the Paris Olympics due to being overweight by just 100 grams.
Haryana’s wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who was disqualified in the Paris Olympics for being overweight by only 100 grams, had fought in the 50 kg category during the trials due to lack of clarity in the weight category. He even gave trials in 53 kg weight category.
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Whereas he had won in the 50 kg weight category. Therefore, he decided to go to the Olympics in this category. Even before this, Vinesh Phogat has wrestled in many net categories in her career.
When she reached the final of the 50 kg category of women’s wrestling in the Paris Olympics, a Diwali-like atmosphere was created in the country. If not gold then silver was for sure. However, within no time this happiness turned into sadness, because Vinesh Phogat was found to be 100 grams more than the prescribed weight in her category.
The rules of the International Wrestling Federation are very strict. If the weight is even one gram more then the wrestler is disqualified. Vinesh was also aware of this. When he came to know at night that his weight had increased, he made all efforts to lose weight at night itself, but was not successful.
According to the rules, there are categories of 50, 53, 57, 62, 68 and 76 kg in women’s freestyle wrestling. The wrestler’s weight is measured in the morning before the match. The wrestler has to stay within his weight on both days of the tournament.
If a wrestler reaches the finals, she has to get weighed in the morning. When Vinesh Phogat went for the competition on Tuesday, her weight was more than the prescribed standard.
Third consecutive Olympics, all three in different weight categories
This was Vinesh Phogat’s third Olympics. He participated in the 48 kg category in Rio Olympics 2016. She played in the 53 kg category in the Tokyo Olympics 2020, but after coming to the Paris Olympics, she decided to play in the 50 kg category.
It is true that playing in the 53 kg category is a bit difficult, because the world’s best wrestlers fall in the 53 kg category.
There was uproar during the trial in Patiala camp
There was an uproar in the hall of the National Institute of Sports in Patiala on March 12, 2024. Wrestler Vinesh Phogat chose to participate in both the 50 kg and 53 kg categories. After this, she won the 50 kg trial, while she remained in the top 4 in the 53 kg trial.
Due to lack of clarity in the rules, Vinesh Phogat did not know which category she would be a part of. Therefore he participated in two categories. After just 5 months, this decision of Vinesh Phogat brought her very close to winning a silver or gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Final Panghal wins bronze medal at 2023 World Championships
Meanwhile, last Panghal won the bronze medal in the 2023 World Championship. With this, India got quota for Paris Olympics in 53 kg category. According to the rules of the Indian Wrestling Federation, the quota winner got the green signal for the Olympics. Now Vinesh Phogat was confused.
At that time wrestling in India was being run by an ad-hoc committee. He had promised them that there would be a trial for the 53 kg category, but that would hardly have happened. Because the wrestling federation elections were held. Sanjay Singh was elected the new president.
Option of 50kg class or 57kg
March 12th arrived. Phogat believed that with the withdrawal of WFI, she would not get a chance to participate in the Olympics in the 53 kg category. They had the choice of the 50 kg category or the 57 kg category. He chose 50 kg. He last participated in this category in 2018.
Regarding this, Vinesh had said, “I had no clarity about the trials for 53 kg quota. Usually the country gets the quota, but they had not conducted trials before. They (Ad-hoc committee) had said that this time it will not happen. I had no choice but to do so because I had to participate in the Olympics.”
During this, Vinesh Phogat had also said that she made this change in weight because there was no other option. I am happy that I am getting a chance to play in the Olympics.
It is very difficult to maintain weight up to 50 for two consecutive days
Vinesh Phogat’s weight is usually around 55-56 kg. It is quite difficult to maintain weight up to 50 for two consecutive days. That’s why Nenad Lalovic, president of United World Wrestling, said that it was not a matter of one kilo but that he already had to lose a lot of weight to reach the 100 gram mark. Due to which the problem occurred.
Read this news also…
Vinesh Phogat’s hopes for silver medal awakened: Now hearing in CAS tomorrow at 1.30 pm; Retired after being disqualified from the Olympics
The appeal filed against the disqualification of wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who was disqualified due to overweight in the Paris Olympics, will now be heard on August 9 (Friday).
This hearing was to be held today i.e. Thursday at 9:30 pm in the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), but the team present with Vinesh asked for time to present the Indian lawyer. After this CAS gave time till tomorrow 10 am (1:30 pm Indian time). (Read full news)
