CHENNAI: Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification seems to have had a ripple effect on the Indian contingent at the ongoing Paris Olympics.
While Vinesh made it to the 50kg final only to be rendered ineligible for being 100 grams overweight, her junior counterpart, Antim Panghal, lost her 1/8 bout against Zeynep Yetgil of Turkey (10-0) in the 53kg category by technical superiority in just 1.41 minutes on Wednesday. Antim’s hope of making it to the repechage round was dashed when the Turkish athlete bowed out after losing to Germany’s Annika Wendle in the quarterfinal.
Sources claimed Antim too struggled to cut the weight before the first weigh-in on Wednesday morning. The 19-year-old wrestler was said to be overweight by 200 grams at the time of the weigh-in, despite starving since Tuesday evening. It was reflected in her performance on the mat, as Antim looked a pale shadow of herself when she took on lower-ranked Zeynep.
Antim was ranked World No. 4 going into the Olympics, while her first-round opponent was ranked 12th. The disastrous turn of events brings an old issue, which led to the suspension of a wrestling coach for six years, back into discussion.
Former wrestler and ex-national women’s team coach Kripashankar Patel raised a similar issue back in 2017 when the United World Wrestling (UWW) introduced the two-day weigh-in system with a concession of two kilograms on the second day. Since then, the policy has been changed, with the concession part being removed.
"The Wrestling Federation of India did not fully implement the policy. I questioned the move but was suspended for six years, citing things which I never intended or said," Patel told TNIE.
Among things that were not implemented, the two-day weigh-in policy was one. "To date, competition in any weight category does not go into day two, be it national championships or national games. When you don’t hold such events, how will the wrestlers get the needed experience? Wrestlers have to be well versed with the international rules, and this can only happen when such rules are made applicable in the national events," Patel added.
The WFI organises most of the wrestling events in the country, with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) hosting national games.
Patel strongly believes every stakeholder, including the IOA and the Sports Authority of India (SAI), should be held liable, as only the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) can't be blamed.
"The WFI gets funds to hold the events but most of the time, the sanctioned amount is not enough. This means the WFI tries to hold bouts from start to finish to save expenses on accommodation and other facilities," he said.
The two-day weigh-in is mandatory at the World Championships and the Olympics, while bouts in a particular weight category at other international events like the Asian Championships get over in a day.
A WFI source cites it as one of the reasons why bouts in a weight category are not held across two days in the country. "Only the Games and Worlds have weigh-ins on both days. Other events are different so the federation organises bout in a weight category from start to finish in a day. Besides, cost is one of the biggest factors, as if bouts are organised across two days, then expenses will grow multi-fold."
The source also emphasised that wrestlers, who compete at the Olympics and Worlds, know the policy and should make sure they follow it while taking part in such events.
The blame game will only intensify in the days to come with concerned authorities trying to save their skin, but one thing is sure: the shortsightedness has deprived the country of an Olympic medal—that too, a possible gold.
