“The first accusation is that she refused to join the Indian squad (during the Tokyo Olympics). The second accusation against her was that she refused to practise with the Indian squad, according to WFI president Brij Bhushan Singh. “Another accusation levelled against her is that she did not wear the authorised Indian Olympic Association singlet. Instead, she donned a singlet from her sponsor, Nike. She was not supposed to wear that.”
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When questioned if this was the first time the federation had a problem with Vinesh, Singh admitted that previous breaches had been overlooked because of the athlete's status.
“She would be unable to compete in any national or domestic event until she submits a response and the WFI makes a final decision,” a WFI source told PTI.
Towards the end of her training cycle, Vinesh was with the Indian wrestling contingent in Bulgaria, Poland, and Estonia. She then spent 15 days in Hungary with her instructor Woller Akos on the final phase of her preparation before flying to Tokyo.
This was done to avoid the Indian sportsmen being subjected to seven days of daily Covid-19 testing before being permitted to depart for Tokyo. The Indian Sports Authority urged foreign-based athletes to fly immediately to Tokyo from wherever they were practising. Mirabai Chanu, a weightlifter, was another athlete who travelled directly from the United States to Tokyo.
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Alternate story
While Vinesh was not with the Indian squad in Tokyo, she was present at the Games Village and followed the itinerary that had been assigned to her. She didn't have to workout with her teammates because there was no regulation that said she had to. Her wearing a Nike singlet rather than the official Olympics-approved singlet, however, constituted a contract violation.
The federation, on the other hand, allocated only one physiotherapist to the men's and women's teams in Tokyo. Vinesh's plea for her regular physiotherapist, Poornima R Ngomdir, was denied. The wrestler took to social media to express his displeasure with the outcome.
“Is it a crime to ask for one physiotherapist for four women wrestlers when there are instances of one athlete having multiple coaches/staff? Where is the balance?” Phogat made the announcement on July 22, one day before the Games began. A physiotherapist is essential for recovering after contests and draining weight-cuts that are an element of the sport. When the WFI finalised the list of support personnel, her request for a physiotherapist was denied.
Vinesh was knocked out of the Olympics in the quarterfinals by Vanesa Kaladzinskaya of Belarus. The Indian had beaten the same opponent by ‘fall' a few months before to this setback.
Vinesh had a successful year in 2021, winning many competitions and earning the top seeding in the 53-kg wrestling division for the Olympics. She is a two-time Commonwealth Games champion and has earned bronze at the 2019 World Championships and gold at the 2018 Asian Games.