New Delhi: Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified Wednesday and stripped of her silver medal after she failed to meet the weight limit ahead of her final bout in the women’s freestyle wrestling 50kg category at the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024.
While Phogat had made the weight for Tuesday’s bouts, according to the rules, wrestlers must stay within their weight category on both days of the competition. On Wednesday, the 29-year-old weighed 100 grams above the required 50kg weight limit. The shock came a day after the three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist handed world No. 1 and Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Yui Susaki her first-ever defeat in an international competition.
However, issues with weigh-ins are not new for Phogat, who usually competes in the 53kg category. She faced a similar challenge during the Olympic qualifiers but managed to make the cut by only a small margin. In 2016, too, Phogat was disqualified from the 1st World Olympic Qualifying event for being overweight. She weighed 400 grams more than stipulated to be eligible for the 48kg category competition.
Though there is a 2kg weight tolerance for the World Cup, the UWW Ranking Series Tournaments, and the International Tournaments, there is no similar buffer at the Olympics — the athletes must weigh strictly within the weight requirements.
Here, ThePrint looks at the rules that guide wrestling at the Olympic games.
No weight buffers in Olympic games
Under the rules, set by the United World Wrestling (UWW), the Olympics has six weight categories for women wrestlers: 50kg, 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, 68kg and 76kg. The matches under each weight category are organised across two days.
The medical control and first weigh-in for each weight category are organised on the morning of the first day of the matches. Athletes that qualify for the finals and repêchage are, then, weighed again on the second morning of the respective weight category.
The weigh-in and the medical control last 30 minutes on the first day, and 15 minutes on the second day.
Wrestlers are required to appear at the medical examination and the weigh-in with their licence and accreditation. After being examined by qualified physicians who eliminate wrestlers carrying any contagious diseases, the wrestler is weighed.
Contestants must be in perfect physical condition with their fingernails cut very short and wearing the singlet, the only uniform allowed for the weigh-in. There is no weight tolerance for the singlet and referees can refuse to weigh a wrestler who is not dressed correctly.
Throughout the entire weigh-in period, wrestlers have the right to get on the scale as many times as they wish.
The referees responsible for the weigh-in must check that all wrestlers are of the weight corresponding to the category in which they are participating during the competition and fulfil all the requirements of Article 5.
According to the UWW rules, “If an athlete does not attend or fails the weigh-in, he/she will be eliminated from the competition and ranked last without rank.”
If one or more athletes qualified for the repêchage and/or finals don’t attend or fail the weigh-in, those who successfully passed the second weigh-in will move to the next round in their part of the bracket. The two bronze medals in Olympic wrestling events are essentially decided through repêchage.
Stripped of silver medal
According to competition rules, Phogat will also not be eligible for a silver medal, leaving only gold and bronze winners in the 50kg category. She was slated to face USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt in the final. But following her disqualification, UWW promoted Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez to the final and she will now take on Hildebrandt.
Normally, wrestling has two repêchage or second chance rounds, and winners of both bouts are awarded bronze medals. But, after Phogat’s disqualification, the 50kg round will also have one less repêchage.
Japan’s Susaki Yui and Ukraine’s Livach Oksana will fight for the only bronze medal.
In the quarter-finals, Phogat defeated Livach by 7-5 to secure a semi-final berth. Later, she went on to beat Lopez to secure a medal for the country. After she defeated Susaki Tuesday, Phogat became the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the final at the Olympics.
In a post on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Phogat a “champion among champions”.
“You are India’s pride and an inspiration for each and every Indian. Today’s setback hurts. I wish words could express the sense of despair that I am experiencing. At the same time, I know that you epitomise resilience. It has always been your nature to take challenges head on. Come back stronger! We are all rooting for you,” he wrote.
Modi urged Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president P.T. Usha to file a strong protest regarding her disqualification, news agency ANI reported citing sources.
Disqualifications in headlines
Disqualifications at the Olympics have often made headlines with athletes being barred from competition for a variety of reasons, including being overweight.
In 2004, Iranian judo fighter Arash Miresmaili was disqualified for weighing in at nearly two kilograms above the limit for his weight class ahead of a match against an Israeli opponent.
Eight female badminton players were disqualified from the London Games in 2012 after they tried to lose doubles matches to land a more favourable draw in the tournament.
Cuban taekwondo fighter Angel Matos was banned from competition for life after he kicked a referee in the face during a match at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
From protest to the Paris podium
Phogat’s disqualification comes at a time when the wrestler has been fighting battles both on and off the mat.
She, along with wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshee Malikkh, began a prolonged protest in the national capital last year against then-Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh who had been accused of sexual harassment.
The protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar drew equal amounts of criticism and support, and photos of Phogat and her fellow wrestlers being tackled by the Delhi Police in one attempt to clear the site became the defining image of their struggle.
In January, at the sit-in, Phogat had broken down on camera while alleging widespread sexual abuse in wrestling. The months-long protest was finally called off in June after a police investigation was launched against Brij Bhushan. He is currently out on bail.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)