Vinesh Phogat in action at Paris Olympics 2024© AFP
India's ace wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who was just one win away from claiming gold at the Paris Olympics 2024, was disqualified just hours ahead of the final on Wednesday. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said that Vinesh, who was competing in the 50kg category, was found 100 grams overweight ahead of the gold medal match. While there were no issues with her weight on Tuesday, the weigh-in on Wednesday found her 100 grams over the weight limit. Olympic medalist boxer Vijender Singh was left fuming by the disqualification and he explained that 100 grams is too less a small a margin for the IOC to take such a big call. In an interview with NDTV. he also said that boxers are given extra time to cut weight if they are overweight in international competitions.
"It is unprecedented for a player to be disqualified like this in the final. 100 grams is nothing. Boxers are given more than an hour to reduce weight," the Olympic medallist boxer said.
“In case an athlete is over-weight - sweating suit, steam bath, sauna , running - all are done to reduce those few grams. We leave water, food and everything. That is why I have no idea what happened. This is a very harsh decision. We are not happy and we should fight the decision," Vijender added.
According to a report, Vinesh not only cut her hair to fall under the weight category but also tried to draw some blood out of her veins, hoping to meet the criteria.
However, the steps taken by the wrestler did not yield the expected results.
Sources also told NDTV that Vinesh's weight went up by 1kg on Tuesday night and although she worked out for almost the entire night, she could only manage to bring down her weight by 900 grams.