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In a devastating turn of events just hours before her historic gold medal bout, Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the women’s freestyle 50kg wrestling competition at the Paris Olympics 2024 after being found overweight on the morning of the event. According to United World Wrestling (UWW) rules, if a wrestler fails the weigh-in test, they are immediately disqualified and placed in the last spot. As a result, Vinesh Phogat will not be eligible for any medal despite reaching the finals. She would have secured a silver medal even if she had lost the final match.
The UWW rules about failing the weigh-in test state, “If an athlete does not attend or fail the weigh-in (the 1st or the 2nd weigh-in), he/s will be eliminated from the competition and ranked last, without rank.”
While confirming the news, the Indian Olympic Association did not provide details about the weight mismatch. However, multiple reports claim that Vinesh Phogat was 100-150 grams overweight on Wednesday morning.
In sports like wrestling, boxing, and other combat disciplines, athletes compete in specific weight categories to ensure fairness, preventing larger athletes from competing against smaller athletes. To meet these weight limits, some athletes engage in a practice known as "weight cutting," which involves losing a significant amount of weight quickly before a competition. This is a common strategy in combat sports, where athletes aim to drop weight in order to compete in a lower weight class and gain a potential advantage.
Vinesh Phogat met the 50kg upper limit on Tuesday morning. She won three bouts, including one against four-time world champion and Tokyo gold medalist Yui Susaki of Japan, becoming the first Indian female wrestler to reach the finals at the Olympics in any weight category. However, she failed the weigh-in test on Wednesday morning.
According to Chapter 3, Article 11 of the wrestling rules:
"For all competitions, the weigh-in is organized each morning of the concerned weight category. The weigh-in and medical control lasts 30 minutes. On the second morning, only wrestlers participating in the repechages and finals must attend the weigh-in, which lasts 15 minutes."
This means Vinesh Phogat, her gold medal competitor Sarah Hildebrandt of the USA, and the repechage winners were weighed in for the second time before their medal matches on Wednesday morning. Vinesh failed this test after being found overweight.
"Wrestlers must appear at the medical examination and the weigh-in with their license and accreditation. The only uniform allowed for the weigh-in is the singlet. After being examined by qualified physicians, the wrestler can be weighed in. No weight tolerance is allowed for the singlet.
Contestants must be in perfect physical condition, with fingernails cut very short. Throughout the weigh-in period, wrestlers can get on the scale as many times as they wish.
Referees responsible for the weigh-in must check that all wrestlers meet the weight requirements and fulfill all the conditions. They must inform any wrestler of the risk if they present themselves on the mat in incorrect dress. Referees will refuse to weigh a wrestler who is not dressed correctly."