Dubai: Sport can sometimes be really cruel. Just before her 50kg freestyle wrestling final against USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt at the Paris Olympics, Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s world came crashing down.
She was disqualified after failing to meet the weight requirements on the morning of the gold medal bout. Reports say Phogat was around 100 grams over the allowed weight limit, leading to her disqualification.
Phogat met the weight limit for Tuesday’s bouts but was required to maintain it on the days of the competition. She was reportedly 2kg overweight on Tuesday night. Despite intensive efforts, including jogging, skipping, and cycling through the night, she could not lose the final 100 grams.
These things happen at international events, and it’s not the first time such an incident has been reported. But the point of contention is despite maintaining an unbeaten streak throughout the competition, Phogat will finish in last place due to her weigh-in failure. None of her previous victories will be recognised.
That is a bit harsh. Didn’t she at least deserve the silver? After All, Phogat’s journey to the final had been incredibly trying.
She pulled off a major upset, handing defending world and Olympic champion Yui Susaki from Japan her first international loss of her 82-match career. The Indian wrestler then overcame Oksana Livach of Ukraine in the quarter-finals and defeated Yusneylis Guzman Lopez of Cuba in the semi-finals.
To scrap all those hard-fought matches and place her in the bottom of the list wasn’t fair.
But every competition has its own rules and regulations. They have to be adhered strictly. That’s the harsh reality.
With her disqualification, Phogat will be replaced by Guzman Lopez in the final while Yui Susaki (Japan) and Oksana Livach (Ukraine) will play in the bronze medal bout.
What the rule says
Weigh-ins take place in the morning for wrestlers competing on the day. The tournament for each weight class will be contested over a two-day span, so wrestlers entering the final or the repechage (when losers are given a chance to qualify for the next round) will have to make weight on both days.
During the first weigh-in, wrestlers will have 30 minutes to make weight. They have the right to get on the scale as many times as they wish. Contestants are weighed with their singlets, but nothing else.
For wrestlers competing on the second day, the weigh-in will last 15 minutes. This is a non-negotiable window during which the wrestler must make the required weight or risk disqualification.
According to the UWW (United World Wrestling, the governing body), the medical control and a first weigh-in will be held the morning of the concerned weight category competition. The athletes in the finals and repechages will weigh-in again on the second morning. No weight tolerance will be allowed for the second weigh-in.
Two kilograms weight tolerance is allowed for World Cup and for the International Tournaments (except UWW ranking events). The Olympics follow a strict weight restriction without the 2kg tolerance.
How did Phogat fail the weigh-in
According to a member of her team, Phogat’s weight-reduction process was distressing. “Her normal weight is 57kg, and she did everything to get down to 50kg. She was 49.9kg yesterday (Tuesday) morning, but the moment she had even a small meal, her weight bounced back to at least 53kg. She had to reach this weight to have the strength to fight in three bouts.
“After the semi-finals last night, her weight was 52.7kg. She didn’t sleep even a minute, didn’t drink a sip of water, and didn’t have a morsel of food. She spent the entire night running and using the sauna. She made it to 50.1kg but didn’t have time to cut the last 100 grams. There was no leeway and no extra time to make weight.”
What they said
United World Wrestling President Nenad Lalovic said, “We have to respect the rules. I’m so sad what happened to her. She was overweight, even though by a small margin but rules are rules. The weigh-in is public and all the athletes are there. It’s impossible to let someone to compete who doesn’t make the weight.”
To a query on whether Phogat at least getting a silver since she did make the weight on first day of the competition, Lalovic said, “It is impossible because the brackets are changing. Everything is changing. And anyway, the rules are rules. Everybody who goes to these competitions knows they have a second weigh-in the next day.”
“We should be more strict on that because we have a problem that you are living in this moment. The wrestlers are losing too much weight and it’s not good for their health. Many have seen their interest at the moment but they don’t see what happens in 20-30 years. We want athletes to compete in their natural weight. That’s the idea. This is when they make the best performances. Unfortunately, it’s a second case here. We had an Italian wrestler the previous day who didn’t make the weight and she didn’t compete,” said Lalovic.
“If you allow this 100 grams, then you would be allowed for 200 grams. There is no end.”
Indian ace shuttler Saina Nehwal was disappointed with the developments but said Phogat was also responsible for the disqualification.
“She is an experienced athlete. Somewhere there has been a mistake on Vinesh’s part too. She should take the blame too. Before such a big match, such a mistake is not right,” Saina Nehwal told NDTV.
“She knows what is right or wrong. I don’t know the details of wrestling. I don’t know if there has been any appeal in Olympics which resulted in something significant. She knows the rule. I don’t know what mistake she did, that too on the final day. I have always seen her working very hard. She gives her 100%,” Saina added.
“It is not like she is playing her first Olympics. It’s her third Olympics. As an athlete, she must know the rules. If there has been a mistake, I don’t know how it happened. At such a big stage, I have not heard any such thing about any other wrestler, that they have been disqualified due to being overweight,” she added.
