Vinesh Phogat's dream of winning an Olympic medal shattered after she was disqualified ahead of the 50kg gold medal bout. In a twist of fate for Vinesh Phogat, the wrestler could not make the weight on the morning of her bout at Paris Olympics 2024.
Vinesh Phogal disqualification has been confirmed by Indian Olympic Association, stating that the Indian grappler was 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.
"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.
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 kilos 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.
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.
