Paris: An entire nation’s hopes were crushed under the weight of 100 grams.
With hours to go before Vinesh Phogat’s gold medal bout on Wednesday, she stood on the scales: the figures on the display were horrifying. For her 50kg category bout, she was 100gm overweight, leading to an automatic disqualification on perhaps the biggest day of her sporting career.
No amount of pleading by Indian officials to get some more time to shed those 100gm was going to change the rules and so that’s how it stayed, ending Vinesh’s tale of resilience at the Olympics.
She had scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the gold medal bout on Tuesday night and before this morning, she was assured of at least a silver medal.
But she will now be coming back empty-handed. The shattered 29-year-old had to be taken to the polyclinic inside the Games village due to severe dehydration earlier in the day.
“I met Vinesh at the Olympic Village Polyclinic a short while ago and assured her of complete support of the Indian Olympic Association, Government of India and the whole country. We are providing Vinesh all medical and emotional support,” Indian Olympic Association President P T Usha said in a statement after the stunning turn of events.
“The Wrestling Federation of India has filed an appeal to UWW to reconsider the decision to disqualify Vinesh and IOA is following that up in the strongest possible manner,” she added.
The proests and appeals can continue but the cold fact was that Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who lost to Vinesh in the semifinals, replaced her in the final.
Contingent’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala explained the process of weight cut and said that every possible trick was used to ensure that Vinesh could be within the prescribed limit.
“The process of weight cut involves a calculated restriction of food and water along with sweating from exercises and sauna till the morning weigh-in. This weight cut causes weakness and energy depletion, which is counter-productive to participation,” he said.
“…for energy restoration, limited water and high energy foods are given after weigh-in. Vinesh’s nutritionist had calculated this to be 1.5 kg. There sometimes is also a rebound weight gain following competition,” he added.
Pardiwala revealed that Vinesh had been merely given small amounts of water to prevent dehydration after three draining bouts on Tuesday.
“Her post participation weight was found to be increased. The coach initiated the normal process of weight cut that he has always employed with Vinesh and felt confident that it would be achieved.
“All possible drastic measures, including cutting off her hair, were used. However, she was not below her allowed weight of 50kg,” he said.
International rules stipulate that any grappler found overweight at the time of weigh-in ends up at the bottom of the final standings.
It is particularly devastating given that she had taken down defending champion Yui Susaki of Japan en route the finals on Tuesday in a remarkable performance and was to face American Sarah Ann Hildebrandt in the summit bout this evening.
“Vinesh failed second day weigh-in. According to the article 11 of the International Wrestling Rules, Vinesh will be replaced by the wrestler who lost against her in the Semifinal. Therefore Yusneylis Guzman Lopez will compete in the Final,” the Paris Games organising committee said in a statement.
“Repechage Yui Susaki vs Oksana Livach (Ukraine) will become Bronze Medal Match,” it added
This means, that the 50kg category will offer only one bronze medal in the Games as against the usual two, which are decided after bouts between the losing semifinalists and the two repechage round winners.
Vinesh was not the only weight-related disqualification in the 50kg category.
On Tuesday, Italy’s Emanuela Liuzzi was also forced to forfeit her preliminary bout after being found overweight.
According to UWW (United World Wrestling) rules, wrestlers have the right, each in turn, to get on the scale as many times as they wish throughout the weigh-in period.
“If an athlete does not attend or fail the weigh-in (the 1st or the 2nd weigh-in), he will be eliminated of the competition and ranked last, without rank,” the rule states.
The Indian wrestling contingent was expectedly distraught. Vinesh had stated before the Games that it would be her final outing in the quadrennial showpiece and it remains to be seen if she would change her mind after this setback.
“Everyone here is feeling as if someone in the family has died. We don’t know what has struck us. Everyone is shocked,” India’s national women’s coach Virender Dahiya said.
Cutting weight is a painful process that wrestlers have to endure if their natural body weight is higher than the division in which they compete.
Vinesh’s natural body weight is about 56-57kg and it takes massive effort for her to get down to 50kg.
While in invitational tournaments, UWW allows for a grace of upto 2kg, no such relaxation exists for showpieces like Olympics, the world championships and the Asian Championships.
Athletes competing in contact sports go without food and even water two days before the weigh-in.
Boxer Nikhat Zareen had said after her defeat in Paris that she did not take either food or water for two days to stay within the weight limit and lost strength as a result.
