In an absolute shocker, India's wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Wednesday was disqualified from the Paris Olympics ahead of her historic gold medal match against USA's Sarah Ann Hilderbrandt. Indian Olympic Association on Wednesday confirmed that Vinesh Phogat's incredible run at the Paris Olympics has come to an end and she will no longer be part of the marquee tournament. As per reports, Vinesh Phogat's disqualification reason from Paris Olympics is said to be 'overweight'. As per reports, Vinesh could not make the weight on the morning of her 50 kg gold medal bout.
Phogat was supposed to fight against the US wrestler in the final of 50 kg gold bout on August 7 on Mat B at the Champ-de-Mars Arena at 9.45 p.m. IST. Now, the Indian wrestler will no longer be participating in the match. Below is what IOC said on Vinesh Phogat's disqualification reason-
"It is with regret that the Indian contingent shares news of the disqualification of Vinesh Phogat from the Women’s Wrestling 50kg class. Despite the best efforts by the team through the night, she weighed in a few grams over 50kg this morning. No further comments will be made by the contingent at this time. The Indian team requests you respect Vinesh’s privacy. It would like to focus on the competitions on hand."
A separate report quoted sources in the known development that Vinesh Phogat was roughly 100 grams over the permissible limits.. According to competition rules, Phogat will not be eligible even for a silver medal and the 50 kg will have just gold and bronze medal winners. Furthermore, Vinesh made the weight for Tuesday’s bouts but as per rule, wrestlers have to stay within their weight category on both days of the competition.
The report further suggests that Vinesh Phogat who reached the final defying all odds, was approximately 2 kilos overweight on Tuesday night. She didn’t sleep the whole night and did everything in her capacity to meet the criteria – from jogging to skipping and cycling.