Vinesh?Phogat?announces retirement after Paris Olympics 2024 disqualification, says 'Wrestling won, I lost'
Vinesh Phogat made history on Tuesday by becoming the first Indian female wrestler to enter the Olympic wrestling finals. She was scheduled to face Sarah Hildebrandt of the US in the finals on Wednesday and was assured of a medal. However, this did not happen as Phogat was disqualified for being overweight by 100 grams.
Indian Olympic wrestler Vinesh Phogat announced on Thursday that she is retiring from wrestling. The announcement came hours after she was disqualified from competing in the women's 50kg final after being found overweight. "Mom, wrestling has defeated me. I have lost¡ my courage is all broken, I don't have any more strength now. Goodbye Wrestling 2001-2024. I will forever be indebted to all of you. Sorry," Phogat wrote on X.
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¡ª Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) August 7, 2024
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CREDIT: REUTERS
Disqualified for being overweight
The 29-year-old Phogat made history on Tuesday by becoming the first Indian female wrestler to enter the Olympic wrestling finals. She was scheduled to face Sarah Hildebrandt of the US in the finals on Wednesday and was assured of a medal. However, this did not happen as Phogat was disqualified for being overweight by 100 grams.
Also read: Vinesh Phogat disqualified before final for being overweight by 100g
'Tried everything to reduce weight, but..'
The Indian wrestler, who was 2 kilos overweight on Tuesday night, tried everything, including jogging, skipping, and cycling through the night, but she could not lose the final 100 grams. The Indian team even tried cutting off her hair to reduce weight but failed to bring it down to 50kg.
CREDIT: PTI
This took a physical and mental toll on Phogat, who was so dehydrated by her efforts that she had to be admitted to the polyclinic in the Games Village for IV drips.
Vinesh Phogat files appeal
Meanwhile, Phogat, who according to the rules, has been placed at the bottom of the ranking, filed an appeal on Wednesday with the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), demanding that she be awarded a joint silver medal.
Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who lost to Phogat in the semifinals, replaced her in the final against Hildebrandt and secured the silver.
CREDIT: REUTERS
An ad-hoc division of the CAS has been set up here for the resolution by arbitration of any disputes arising during the Olympic Games or during a period of 10 days preceding.
Can't change rules now: UWW
However, wrestling's international governing body, United World Wrestling (UWW), stated that the current weigh-in rule cannot be changed at this time.
"On IOA's suggestion that a wrestler's results from the day on which the athlete met the weigh-in requirements should not be disqualified, the UWW President was sympathetic. UWW will also discuss the suggestion at an appropriate platform, but it could not be done retrospectively," it said in a statement.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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