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IMAGE: Vinesh Phogat in action against Ukraine’s Oksana Livach in the quarter-finals at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday. Photograph: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
In a shocking turn of events, Vinesh Phogat was on Wednesday disqualified from the Paris Olympics after being found overweight ahead of her women’s 50kg final.
Vinesh had scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the gold medal bout in the event on Tuesday night. She was scheduled to face American Sarah Hildebrandt in the final on Wednesday but will now return home without a medal.
“She was found overweight by 100gm this morning. The rules do not allow this and she has been disqualified,” said an Indian coach.
Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who lost to Vinesh in the semi-finals, replaced the disqualified Indian in the 50kg category final against USA’s Sarah Ann Hildebrandt.
“Vinesh failed second day weigh-in. According to the article 11 of the International Wrestling Rules, Vinesh (IND) will be replaced by the wrestler who lost against her in the Semifinal. Therefore Yusneylis Guzman Lopez (CUB) will compete in the Final,” the Paris Games organising committee said in a statement.
“Repechage Yui Susaki (Japan) vs Oksana Livach (Ukraine) will become Bronze Medal Match,” it added.
The Indian Olympic Association later confirmed the development and requested privacy for the wrestler, who was competing in her third Olympics.
“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,” the IOA stated.
“No further comments will be made by the contingent at this time. The Indian team requests you to respect Vinesh’s privacy. It would like to focus on the competitions on hand,” it added.
Vinesh was not the only weight-related disqualification in the 50kg category.
On Tuesday, Italy’s Emanuela Liuzzi was also forced to forfeit her preliminary bout after being found overweight.
The Indian wrestler had pulled off the biggest upset of the Games by
outwitting the hitherto invincible Yui Susaki of Japan with a perfectly planned strategy before edging past Ukraine’s Oksana Livach to storm into the semis.
Phogat was the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the final at the Olympic Games after a convincing 5-0 victory over Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez in the semi-finals.
Vinesh 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,’ said a report in The Indian Express.
‘However, it didn’t prove to be enough. Sources said the Indian delegation pleaded for some more time to give her a chance to shed the last 100 grams, but to no avail.’
‘This isn’t the first time Phogat has found it tough to make the weight in the 50 kg category, a lower one compared to the 53 kg where she usually competes. She faced a similar ordeal even during the Olympic qualifiers, where she narrowly made the cut,’ the report further added.
The Indian wrestling contingent was expectedly distraught. Vinesh had stated before the Games that it would be her final outing in the quadrennial showpiece and it remains to be seen if she would change her mind after this setback.
“Everyone here is feeling as if someone in the family has died. We don’t know what has struck us. Everyone is shocked,” India’s national women’s coach Virender Dahiya said.
Cutting weight is a painful process that wrestlers have to endure if their natural body weight is higher than the division in which they compete.
Vinesh’s natural body weight is about 56-57kg and it takes massive effort for her to get down to 50kg.
While in invitational tournaments, UWW allows for a grace of upto 2kg, no such relaxation exists for showpieces like Olympics, the world championships and the Asian Championships.
Athletes competing in contact sports go without food and even water two days before the weigh-in.
Boxer Nikhat Zareen had said after her defeat in Paris that she did not take either food or water for two days to stay within the weight limit and lost strength as a result.
