Did you have a sound sleep yesterday as Vinesh Phogat made her way to the Olympic Wrestling finals? After all, Vinesh Phogat stood up to the classic line “Hamari chhoriyan chhoro se kam hai ke”. That is until the system spelled the end of her dream. “It is with regret that the Indian contingent shares news of the disqualification of Vinesh Phogat from the Women’s Wrestling 50kg class”, announced the Indian Olympic Association. But do you know why?

After three matches yesterday, Vinesh Phogat gained 2kg over the weight limit as she replenished herself. A girl can’t eat in peace, can she? Since Vinesh and her team knew she was a couple of kilos over the limit, they did everything they could to drop that weight. Unfortunately, their efforts were in vain, as Vinesh was still 100 grams over the permissible weight limit for the 50kg gold medal match.

Toiling The Midnight Soil

Instead of getting some much-deserved rest, Vinesh Phogat underwent various challenges to fulfil her dream of an Olympic gold. She spent hours skipping, jogging, cycling, and so on. Her team even attempted to draw her blood out to shed those extra kilos. Hope bloomed when she finally lost 1.85 kgs which was a step closer to the dream. But was this enough?

Vinesh Phogat had to abstain from drinking water or even having salt. Can you imagine? She even took sauna baths to hit the required weight bar. It turns out the increase in weight can be caused by things other than water or food intake. Sometimes, even hair can play the role of a devil for a woman. So, she cut her hair short, but that wasn’t much help either. All that hard work to lose 2kgs overnight, only for 100 grams to kill her dream.

Let’s Talk Rules

According to the United World Wrestling (UWW) ‘rules’ (ugh), athletes are required to weigh twice. The first is done on the morning of the preliminary rounds and then on the day of the finals. It doesn’t end here. At the time of preliminary rounds, players have 30 minutes to show their weight. Then, the time is reduced to 15 minutes for athletes who make it to the finals. 

Not only this, as per the rulebook, wrestlers can also be disqualified if they don’t attend or fail the weigh-in. Elimination of this kind leads to an athlete receiving the last rank without a ranking. In the midst of it all, there was an argument about why Vinesh and her team did not withdraw from the match due to injury because it would have made her eligible for a silver medal. Well, according to the rules, if a wrestler gets injured during the competition on the first day, they don’t need to appear for the second-day weigh-in. However, if the athlete withdraws due to injury after the bout is completed, he/she will have to appear in the second weigh-in, otherwise, there will be an elimination.

While the news is heartbreaking for every Indian, it is more so for Vinesh Phogat. After all, she is the one who put in the work. But she has found support from the people, including Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Sanjay Singh and six-time world Champion and 2012 London Olympic gold medallist Jordan Burroughs of USA, both of whom have appealed to the authorities to give Vinesh the silver medal.

Proposed Immediate Rule Changes for UWW:

1.) 1kg second Day Weight Allowance.

2.) Weigh-ins pushed from 8:30am to 10:30am.

3.) Forfeit will occur in future finals if opposing finalist misses weight.

4.) After a semifinal victory, both finalists’ medals are secured even if…

— Jordan Burroughs (@alliseeisgold) August 7, 2024

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