Vinesh Phogat weighed 49.9 kg on the first day of the 50kg freestyle women's wrestling event at the Paris Olympics. She had three back-to-back bouts on the day, all of which she won with flying colours. Vinesh even won over the existing gold medallist, Japan's Yui Susaki and made history by becoming the first Indian wrestler to reach the Olympic finals, assuring the country a medal. However, after all this, how did she gain weight to get disqualified from the event the next day? Wrestlers generally consume very little food and water, as advised by their nutritionists, during events like the Olympics. According to her team's Chief Medical Officer Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, Vinesh's nutritionist gave her food and water after three bouts, calculating that the weight could go up to 1.5 kg.
However, the weight went up to 2.7 kg. The team tried through the night to cut down the weight, including chopping off her hair and wearing lighter jerseys. However, she still weighed 100 gms above the permitted weight. Vinesh got disqualified just hours before the final bout. Meanwhile, Antim Pankhal, who had competed in the 53 kg apparently starved herself for two days to maintain the weight parameter. This is said to have affected her performance on the mat in the qualifying rounds. Even while the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports as well as the related departments are reiterating their support for Vinesh, it is extremely disappointing that we couldn’t manage to ensure a proper system that monitors the athletes’ fitness and nutrition. American wrestler Sarah Ann Hildebrandt won the gold in the event, while Cuba's Yusneylis Guzman Lopez won silver. Yui Susaki won bronze in the event.
