Vinesh Phogat’s day of triumph turned into utter despair on Wednesday morning after the wrestler was disqualified from the 2024 Paris Olympics. Vinesh qualified for the women’s 50kg wrestling final – the first Indian woman to do so. it. But now she will have to return from Paris empty-handed. The Indian Olympic Association requested privacy for the fighter, who was competing in her third Olympics.
International rules stipulate that any grappler who is overweight at the time of weigh-in ends up at the bottom of the final classification. She had defeated defending champion Yui Susaki of Japan en route to the final on Tuesday in a remarkable performance, and was due to face American Sarah Ann Hildebrandt in the top bout tonight.
Badminton star Saina Nehwal said the nation was disheartened. “I’ve been rooting for her for the last two three days. Each player trains for this moment. I know what she must be feeling. There are no words to describe this as an athlete. and has always made glorious returns next time, she will be sure that a medal will come,” Saina Nehwal told NDTV.
“She’s an experienced athlete. She knows what’s right and wrong. I don’t know the ins and outs of wrestling. I don’t know if there was any appeal at the Olympics that resulted in anything significant. She knows the rule. I don’t know what mistake she made, that too on the last day, I always saw her working very hard.
Saina Nehwal, India’s first Olympic medalist in badminton, was surprised by the ‘mistake’ at such a high level.
“Usually this type of error doesn’t happen to any athlete at this level. How this happened is a question mark. I’m not sure about the rules and regulations of wrestling. As an athlete, I am feeling bad,” said Saina.
“It’s not like she’s playing her first Olympics, it’s her third Olympics. As an athlete, she must know the rules. If there was a mistake, I don’t know how it happened. On such a big stage, I have not heard anything about any other fighter, that they were disqualified for being overweight. She is an experienced athlete. Somewhere there was a mistake on Vinesh’s part too.
Saina went on to say that there was also a mistake on Vinesh’s part.
“She is an Asian Games champion, a Commonwealth Games champion. Somewhere there must have been a mistake on Vinesh’s part too. Because before such a big match any player will be alert that the weight must be within the permissible limits. How such a mistake happened only she or her coach can answer, but I am disheartened that we missed out on a clear medal,” said Saina.
“I understand what she and her coaches must be going through. They should respond now. It could be that something happened by mistake. Her coaches were crying after her victory. They should be in a better position to respond as to what exactly happened.”
With PTI inputs
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