Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat waves to her fans during the Paris Olympics 2024. PTI
Vinesh Phogat's desperate bid: From cutting her hair to skipping food
Vinesh did not eat in a bid to reduce weight before the final but after shedding more than 2 kilograms, she could not lose that 100 grams that resulted in her disqualification
After she was disqualified from the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024 on Wednesday (August 7), details have emerged about how Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat struggled to reduce her weight throughout the competition in France.
Vinesh was set to fight for gold on Wednesday against USA’s Sarah Ann Hildebrandt but after creating history which led to ecstasy, now it has turned into agony for her and her supporters.
She will now return home empty-handed. Vinesh usually contested in the 53 kg category but at the Paris Olympics she was in the 50 kg section, doing rigorous workouts to reduce weight and fit into this category.
According to a report in Sportstar, quoting a member from the wrestler’s camp, Vinesh did not eat in a bid to reduce weight before the final but after shedding more than 2 kilograms, she could not lose100 grams which resulted in her disqualification.
“Her normal weight is 57kg, and she did everything to get down to 50kg,” the member said. “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,” a member of Vinesh’s camp said, as per the report.
“After the semifinals 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,” the member added.
A report in Hindu said Vinesh cut her hair too to reduce weight.
Indian wrestler Ravi Dahiya said that athletes are usually given a set time by which they have to submit their weight, according to a report in NDTV.
For instance, if a player is weighed in at 8:05 PM and is found to be overweight, the authority gives time till the deadline (8:30 PM for instance) to reduce the weight. However, there's no scope of improvement if the weight remains over the limit at 8:31 PM, the report said.
