Heartbreak for India: Vinesh Phogat Disqualified from Olympics By 100 Grams

Slightly overweight Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the 50kg freestyle wrestling competition at the 2024 Olympics. Phogat qualified for the gold medal match but was disqualified for a few grams of weight exceeding allowed.

Vinesh beat Ukraine’s Oksana Livach 7-5 to land a semi-final berth earlier. Then she overcame Yusneylis Guzman Lopez from Cuba to become the first Indian woman wrestler to make it to an Olympic final. But the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) declared her disqualified just before her gold medal contest.

The IOA expressed sadness at the event, asking for privacy for Vinesh, and said at this point no more remarks will be said. For Phogat, who often falls in the 53kg category, the scenario is familiar; he encountered a similar weight difficulty during the Olympic qualifying process.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has discussed various solutions for Vinesh’s situation with IOA President PT Usha. If it would enable Vinesh, Modi advised Usha to organize a loud protest about her disqualification.

Competition rules state that Phogat will not be qualified for a silver medal, thereby leaving just gold and bronze winners in the 50kg class. According to reports, Phogat skipped to lose the additional weight and jogged the previous night, however she was overweight by one hundred grammes.

Resilient by nature, Vinesh Phogat overcame major challenges including federation politics, knee surgery, and hip tendinitis. Her path to the Olympics, which included demonstrations against the head of the Wrestling Federation of India for claimed sexual harassment, demonstrated her tenacity. Her efforts nevertheless bear witness to her tenacity and will even with the disqualification.