Renowned author Chetan Bhagat on Wednesday expressed his disappointment at wrestler Vinesh Phogat's disqualification from the Paris Olympics after she was found to be 100 gms overweight before her gold medal bout.
Heartbreak in Paris
Phogat became the first Indian athlete to be disqualified for being slightly overweight on the day of her final bout. She was scheduled to face Sarah Ann Hildebrandt from USA and was assured of at least a silver but will now have to return home empty handed.
International rules state that any grappler found overweight at the time of weigh-in ends up at the bottom of the final standings.
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Fans back Phogat during tough time
The famous wrestler from Haryana has been receiving a wave of support from not just the Indian sporting fraternity but also from politicians, Bollywood celebrities with Bhagat now joining the bandwagon.
"The human body is 70% water or whatever and of course it fluctuates. Stand in the sun for a while and your weight is different.
"Weighing scales have tolerance fluctuations. A 100 grams reading and a decade of prep has to be thrown away? What kind of rules are these?" Bhagat tweeted.
Phogat was going to become the first Indian female wrestler to reach the wrestling final at the Olympic Games.
But instead, the 29-year-old had to be taken to the medical center at the Games Village due to dehydration as she was trying to lose weight throughout the night but was still unable to achieve the 50kg mark.
