Commonwealth Games Gold Medalist Vinesh Phogat was recently disqualified from the Paris Olympics in 2024. She was scheduled to compete in the women’s 50kg final on 7 August 2024 but Phogat was disqualified for being overweight in her category. Vinesh usually competes in the 53kg category but competed in the 50kg category at the Paris Olympics.
Her decision to move from the 53kg category to the 50kg category was certainly bold, but nobody could have predicted it would end up like this. Before her disqualification, Vinesh was the first Indian female wrestler to reach the final of the Olympics. Before her, Sakshi Malik is the only Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics. The Rio Olympics awarded Sakshi a bronze medal.
According to other sources, Phogat had earlier competed in the 53kg category but shifted to 50kg due to another wrestler, Anant Panghal, earning an Olympic quota in the 53kg category. Vinesh missed significant time due to a protest against former chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. In that period, Panghal secured a quota place in the 53kg category – Vinesh’s preferred weight category. The 29-year-old had no choice but to switch weight categories to ensure she did not miss out on the Olympics.
Switching from 53kg to 50kg was fraught with challenges. It required her to adjust her training and nutrition significantly. Additionally, facing the challenges of knee surgery and its recovery process tested her mettle. Dropping down to the 50kg weight category put additional pressure on Phogat’s body. Cutting weight before a match is grueling and drains the body of energy, which would have been especially challenging for her as she was about to turn 30.
Under which rule was Vinesh disqualified?
At the 33rd Summer Olympics in Paris, France, the wrestling competition for each weight category is held over two days. Wrestlers are weighed on the morning of each competition day. As per the rules of wrestling, the wrestler is eliminated if a wrestler fails to make the weight measurement on any of the competition days (preliminary, repechage, and final rounds). Vinesh Phogat was eligible to compete on the first day of the competition. However, when she was weighed on the morning of the final (7 August 2024), she was found to be 100 grams overweight.
