Bollywood actress Swara Bhasker expressed disappointment over the disqualification of wrestler Vinesh Phogat from the 50 kg women's wrestling event of Olympics 2024 for being overweight. Vinesh was scheduled to take on United States' Sarah Ann Hildebrandt in the Gold Medal match.
On Wednesday (August 7), the Indian Olympic contingent issued a statement mentioning that Phogat had tipped the scales above the 50 kg mark and was disqualified.
Reacting to her disqualification, Swara wrote on X, "Who believes this 100 grams over weight story?" and added a broken heart emoticon.
On the other hand, veteran actress and politician Hema Malini called Vinesh's disqualification 'strange'. She told media persons outside the Parliament, "It is very surprising, and it feels strange that she was disqualified for being 100 gm overweight. It is important to keep the weight in check. It is a lesson for all of us."
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The actress-politician added, "I wish she should lose that 100 gm quickly but she would not get an opportunity."
Following her disqualification from the gold medal bout at Paris Olympics, Vinesh suffered from dehydration and was admitted to a hospital. According to media reports, the wrestler did not sleep the entire night after qualifying for the final and was working hard to shed weight.
Reportedly, the Indian Olympic Association lodged a complaint over the decision to disqualify Vinesh from the gold medal match against Sarah Hildebrandt of the USA.
When Vinesh protested against Brij Bhushan
In 2023, Vinesh was one of the three top wrestlers, who had led a protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accusing him of sexually harassing women wrestlers. Other wrestlers who stood alongside her were Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik.
The protests resulted in the filing of a case against Brij Bhushan, who later also stepped down as Wrestling Federation of India chief.
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