Those excess 100 grams not just robbed Vinesh Phogat of an opportunity to win an Olympic gold and make history, they may also haunt her for a lifetime.
What led to this kind of goof-up? Former Indian Olympic Association president Narinder Batra didn’t wish to point fingers at anyone but indicated Vinesh’s diet might have had something to do with her disqualification after making the 50kg wrestling final on Tuesday.
“How and why her (Vinesh’s) weight increased is something only the athlete and her staff can answer. Normally, once you’ve done two bouts, your weight should be in control then. All of a sudden why it happened, nobody can answer now.
“But, Vinesh’s personal nutritionist had also accompanied, which the government had allowed on special request. Now, that’s for the nutritionist and the government, and the team to find out what she was allowed to eat which led to such a situation,” Batra, also a former member of the International Olympic Committee, told The Telegraph on Wednesday.
Vinesh’s coach Waller Akos needs to take the bulk of the responsibility over the matter, feels Ramphal Mann, who has coached wrestler Bajrang Punia. “It’s the coach’s job to keep his candidate’s weight under control and check it beforehand (prior to the pre-bout test),” Mann, currently in charge of the Yogeshwar Dutt academy near Rohtak, pointed out.
Wrestling Federation of India president Sanjay Singh also said the support staff “should have paid attention to her all the time to ensure nothing of this sort happens”.
Former Bengal weight-lifter Kamalakanta Santra, who had an almost similar experience in the 1984 LA Games, can understand what Vinesh must be going through. “If there’s no proper intake for three months or so, the body becomes such that it gets tough to shed even 100 grams,” he said. “Almost the same thing had happened to me. I had a tiff with the coach regarding my body weight. Late in the night, I was told I needed to reduce weight.”
