Charkhi Dadri: Coach and former wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat Wednesday held coaches and doctors part of the Indian contingent responsible for the disqualification of wrestler Vinesh Phogat, his niece, from the final bout in the women’s freestyle wrestling 50kg category at the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024, calling it a “cruel twist of fate”.
Vinesh’s Olympic dream ended in heartbreak after she did not clear the 50kg weight requirement during a weigh-in Wednesday morning, exceeding the limit by about 100 grams, a day after the 29-year-old became the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the finals.
“Coaches are at fault. If her weight was fine till yesterday (Tuesday). What did they gave her in the night that increased her weight. Coaches know what they have given in the diet. We don’t know,” Mahavir told ThePrint, sitting outside Mahavir Phogat Sports Academy in Haryana’s Charkhi Dadri.
“They should tell us the reason why her weight increased. It was their responsibility (to ensure she cleared the weigh-in),” he added.
He also said the rules at the Olympic games were too strict. “They should be relaxed a bit.”
Unlike the the World Cup, the United World Wrestling (UWW) Ranking Series Tournaments, and the International Tournaments, where there is 2kg weight tolerance, Olympics rules do not have a buffer — the athletes must weigh strictly within the weight requirements.
Mahavir Phogat is the father and coach of star Indian wrestlers Geeta Phogat — who won India’s first gold medal in women’s wrestling at the 2010 Commonwealth Games — and Babita Phogat, who won a gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The 2016 hit film Dangal, starring Aamir Khan, was loosely based on his life and his attempts to turn the Phogat sisters into world-class wrestlers. He has also trained three-time Commonwealth champion Vinesh and her sister Priyanka, who earned a silver medal at the 2016 Asian Wrestling Championships.
Heartbroken by Vinesh’s disqualification, Mahavir told ThePrint that he couldn’t gather himself to eat anything. He said it was his responsibility to tell the world that Vinesh was a winner and it’s coaches, doctors, and the staff who let her down.
“She was on the verge of getting a gold medal. I can’t believe that she has been disqualified,” said Mahavir. “I guess it was not written in her destiny”.
Former pehelwan Sher Singh, 65, who has known Vinesh since she was child said she had been betrayed. Sitting next to Mahavir, he told ThePrint: “I don’t know who to blame — the coaches, the staff or the doctors. But she has been betrayed.”
“100 grams is almost nothing — like a single breath. For a wrestler, the coach is as important as their biological parents. Everything hinges on the coach,” he said.
Mahavir said he is waiting for Vinesh to come back so he can train her. “I will tell her, my dear daughter, the next Olympics are waiting for you. You will bring gold for us.”
On Tuesday, Vinesh, who usually competes in the 53kg-category, handed world No. 1 and Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Yui Susaki her first-ever defeat in an international competition and advanced to the finals.
Reports said the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had appealed the disqualification.
Responding to the development, Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Sanjay Singh said it was the coaches’ responsibility to make sure the wrestler clears the weigh-in, calling for strict action against them.
“I don’t think Vinesh is at fault here. She was performing wonderfully, and the entire responsibility here is of her coach and the supporting staff. A probe should be conducted to see how her weight increased. I urge the central government to take strict action against them (the coach and the supporting staff),” he told news agency PTI.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)