‘Heartbreaking’, say former Olympians on Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification

Vinesh Phogat, who became the first female wrestler to make an Olympic final on Tuesday night, will return from Paris without a medal. The wrestler has been disqualified after she was found to exceed her 50 kg weight division by 100 grams.

“It is with regret that the Indian contingent shares news of the disqualification of Vinesh Phogat from the Women’s Wrestling 50kg class. Despite the best efforts by the team through the night, she weighed in a few grams over 50kg this morning. No further comments will be made by the contingent at this time. The Indian team requests you respect Vinesh’s privacy. It would like to focus on the competitions on hand,” Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said in a statement.

The shocking turn of events has left other athletes and sports fans in the country, heartbroken. “Completely gutted . Sometimes u dont need a gold medal to be a true champion to people,” India’s first individual Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra wrote on X.

“Dear @Phogat_Vinesh, you will always be a champion in our eyes. I was deeply hoping you could win the gold. The little time I spent with you at PDCSE was watching a woman with a superhuman will fight to get better. It was inspiring. I am here for you always, sending all the universe’s positivity your way ❤️🤗”, wrote India's two-time Olympic medal-winning shuttler PV SIndhu on X.

“This is heartbreaking,” India’s first badminton Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal wrote.

“Not sure about how it works, but this could not be more painful for all of us! Can’t even guess what she is feeling! But isn’t the weight count for the day of the match? If she was under 50 kg yesterday, is it not a legit win, then why out of medal contention?”, former shooter Joydeep Karmakar wrote.

“Can’t imagine how Vinesh Phogat must be feeling right now. From defeating World #1 and having secured a medal to be being disqualified for 100g weight is heartwrenching. :(,” said Indian chess player Vidit Gujrathi.

“This is not done!,” wrote former Indian badminton player Jwala Gutta.

"I have no words. The whole country was hoping for a gold medal. I woke up this morning feeling so happy for Vinesh, she was so well prepared and then around 9-10 am I got to hear this news. I didn't know how to react. Even if they're 50-100 gms above weight they are usually allowed to compete. I don't want people of the country to lose hope. Once Vinesh is back I want her to prepare for the next Olympics. Chaar saal zyada nahi hote (four years is not a lot of time)," Vinesh's uncle and wrestling coach Mahavir Phogat told reporters.