Vinesh’s coaches blamed for her weight increase, WFI prez wants govt action

Blaming the coaches and support staff of India’s wrestling contingent in Paris for Vinesh Phogat’s weight increase that resulted in her disqualification from this year’s Olympics, Wrestling Federation of India president Sanjay Singh urged the central government to take strict action against those responsible. Vinesh was disqualified hours before her historical gold medal bout against Sarah Ann Hildebrandt of the United States of America after she was found overweight from the permissible limit of 50kg (her weight category at the Paris Olympics 2024).
Sanjay Singh said it was Vinesh’s coaches’ responsibility to ensure she was within 50kgs before the gold medal bout. “I don’t think Vinesh is at fault here. She was performing wonderfully, and the entire responsibility here is of her coach and the supporting staff. A probe should be done to see how her weight increased. I urge the central government to take strict action against them (the coach and the supporting staff),” he told PTI.
The WFI chief said he spoke to India’s Indian Olympic Association and United World Wrestling officials and requested they allow Vinesh some relaxation, which was declined.
“I have held a conversation with IOA (Indian Olympic Association) and UWW (United World Wrestling), and asked them for some relaxation. I received a call in the morning and I was told that Vinesh Phogat was overweight by 100 grams. I requested the officials to give (Vinesh) some time and some relaxation, but it was denied. The entire country was expecting a gold medal but she was disqualified due to her weight. I hope God will give her strength, and the entire nation is with her,” he added.
Vinesh reportedly gained a couple of kilos by Tuesday night. Her coaches and support staff members took desperate and extreme measures to reduce Vinesh’s weight. She didn’t sleep the entire night, drank very little water, spent hours at the Olympic Games village’s gym skipping, jogging and cycling and even cut her hair but nothing worked. She was still found 100gm overweight.
In international wrestling competitions, all wrestlers have to pass the weigh-in process at the start of the day. In non-medal matches, athletes are given 30 minutes and during that time period, they can hop on the weigh scale unlimited number of times for their satisfaction. However, if they are found to be 1 gm overweight, they are disqualified.
Vinesh was within the permissible limit of 50kg during the weigh-in process on Tuesday and was, therefore, allowed to participate in her bouts. She registered a historic win against four-time world champion and Tokyo gold medalist Yui Susaki of Japan in the first round. Then she went on to get the better of Ukraine’s Oksana Livach in the quarterfinal. The 29-year-old Indian created history by beating Yusneilis Guzman Lopez in the semi-final to become the first female Indian wrestler to enter the Olympics final and assure her at least a silver.
As per the UWW rules, the wrestler advancing to the medal bouts must go through another weigh-in round at the start of the day’s play. Vinesh failed this weigh-in on Wednesday and will now return empty-handed, as the UWW rules nullify all previous results if a wrestler fails the weigh-in process at any stage.