What makes a champion? Is it a gold medal around the neck, a number 1 ranking, or a victory at the world championship?
Champions are just not defined by victories; they’re defined by their actions, by their courage, their perseverance, and their honor. One such champion in vinesh phogat.
Who is Vinesh Phogat?
Vinesh has made history by becoming the first Indian women wrestler to participate in 3 Olympics and the first to reach the Olympic final. She’s also the first Indian wrestler to win gold at the Asian Games in 2018.
100 grams short of glory!
Vinesh was competing in 50 kg women’s wrestling at the Paris Olympics 2024. She scored three consecutive wins to reach the final one against Japan’s Yuni Susaki. Susaki was unbeaten in 82 wrestling bouts. Vinesh’s victory over Yuni Susaki, led her into the Olympics finals, igniting a hope to win India’s first gold medal in wrestling.
But the next day, bad news came in that she got disqualified not just from the gold medal match but from the whole tournament. She wouldn’t even get the bronze medal, and the reason was her weight.
The 29-year-old athlete was disqualified for being 100 grams overweight hours before her gold medal bout.
Wrestling has weight classes. If someone is participating in the 50kg category, then her weight should be under 50kg, and if one is over the 50kg mark, then they can’t participate.
What are the rules of weigh-in during the Olympics game?
Wrestlers have to prove their weight twice. Once in the morning of the preliminary event and then before the final round. Now Vinesh was fine in the first test; she came in around 49 kg. wrestler needs to wear his/her singlet and gets her/his weight checked multiple times in 30 minutes window . Also, the medical examination should clear them of any contagious diseases; their nails need to be clipped.
Then on the second day they need to be weighed in again, but the time window is for 15 minutes. On the second test she weighed 50.1 kg. That’s just 100 g extra.
Struggles for shaving off the extra weight!
You might be thinking it’s just a mere 100g, but no, organizers disqualified her. Now a second question might arise: how can this happen in Olympics when athletes have trainers and coaches looking after them? They do, but, Well, weight management for wrestlers is quite complicated.
Vinesh’s natural weight is around 56 kg, so she had to cut a lot of mass to remain under 50 kg. She had to take extreme measures for this: very little food, sauna sessions, no fluids, and continuous exercise.
Basically anything to drop every ounce of body. But the problem is, one has to refuel while competing. Vinesh had 3 grueling bouts in a day, so she had to take some fluid and food, but since the body is so famished that it adds quickly to weight, and that’s what happened with Vinesh.
So by the end of the day, she weighed about 52 kg. So her team got cracking and spent the whole night trying to bring her weight down with no food, no water, and constant exercise. They even shortened her hair and tried to draw her blood out, but no luck. Losing more weight wasn’t just possible.
Next morning, her team tried to get some time, but organizers refused. Thus vinesh phogat Olympics dreams were dashed. She was so drained that she had to be taken to a clinic for medical help after that brutal night.
Vinesh Phogat, a true champion
Vinesh is not just a fighter on the match; she’s a real-life fighter too. Look at everything she’s been through. Her 2016 Olympics campaign ended in a heartbreak; she was injured in the quarterfinals. At the Tokyo game, she faced a different challenge. She was taking part in a 53 kg weight class, but again, the weight cut was brutal, and she suffered from a neurological condition that left her dazed on the mat. Even her eyesight was affected.
As she was recovering from her injury, India found a new star in the 53 kg event, Antim Pangal. But only one wrestler could qualify from India, so Vinesh decided to focus on a different weight class, the 50 kg event, which meant even more weight cuts, but her biggest challenge would come in 2023. Vinesh Phogat led a movement against the then chief of India’s wrestling federation. She exposed him as a sexual predator. At one point she was pinned on the floor by Delhi police. She also faced a lot of online hate, but she’s a fighter and found redemption on the Olympic mat.
Appeal for joint silver medal
The Indian Olympic Association is planning to protest against her disqualification. The wrestling federation of India has filed an appeal. CAS, the court of arbitration of sports has accepted her plea for a silver medal.
While Vinesh was denied an Olympic medal with a mere 100g of being overweight, her hopes for a joint silver medal with Cuba’s Yusnyelis Guzman are still alive.
Vinesh’s Retirement
Vinesh Phogat has announced her retirement from wrestling following her disqualification in the 50 kg wrestling final in the Olympics. A very emotional tweet came out on Twitter, saying that she’s retiring and apologized to the country for not bringing a medal back to India.
Very rarely a day of absolute euphoria results in absolute shock and disbelief after witnessing one of the most inspiring and unbelievable journeys of Vinesh Phogat, overcoming all hurdles, the toughest of the opponents to make it to the final of the 50 kg wrestling category at the Olympics in Paris. It has been a rollercoaster ride for Vinesh, who was disqualified from the final bout, the gold medal match against the USA’s Sara Hildebrand, because she weighed 100g more than 50kg.
Sports is a field where the slightest margin determines a winner from a loser. Winning and losing is part of the game, but victory lies in never giving up. We don’t know what the future holds. Maybe the appeal will be successful or maybe the decision will be held. Either way, India has gained a champion, a role model for young girls, an inspiration for athletes, and the symbol of courage. Someone had summoned on social media that maybe 100g was her invisible gold medal, and I somehow believe it’s true.
FAQs
Because Vinesh is the first Indian woman wrestler to reach an Olympic final.
53 kg was her original category, but this time she chose to wrestle in the 50 kg category because of another player, Antim pangal, who got selected for wrestling in the 53 kg category.
Disheartened by her disqualification, she revealed her retirement at 29 years of age.
Another athlete from India, Antim Pangal, was participating in the 53 kg category, where Vinesh usually used to fight, but she gave her spot to her and chose to fight in the 50 kg category so she could be in the Olympics.
She was fighting for the 50 kg women’s wrestling category, and on the day of the final she was weighed in to be 100 g over 50 kg, which became the reason for her disqualification.
Since she was disqualified due to mere 100g, heartbroken, she had announced her retirement too.
Sarah Hildebrandt from USA
I am a dentist, baker, and fitness and health enthusiast with a passion for living life to the fullest. I am foodie and explorer, always seeking new adventures and flavors. Currently working on my own skincare brand.
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