Dream shattered, Vinesh Phogat has decided to retire from wrestling.
Addressing her mother Premlata, Vinesh wrote in Hindi on social media: “Ma, wrestling has won, I have lost. Please forgive me, your dreams and my courage, everything is broken. I don’t have any more strength now. Goodbye wrestling 2001-2024. I shall be indebted to you all. Forgive me.”
The 29-year-old wrestler, unseeded in Paris, was distraught after being disqualified from the 50kg gold medal match on Wednesday morning after weighing 100g more. At the Olympic Games, World Championships, Asian Games and Asian Championships, a wrestler has to go for two weigh-ins on both days of the bouts.
There was a huge uproar over the decision back home and the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) filed an appeal with United World Wrestling to reconsider the decision. The Indian Olympic Association too followed that up in the strongest possible manner.
The wrestler, who took on the establishment fighting for the removal of now-ousted WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and was dragged on the streets of New Delhi, has also moved the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) asking for a joint silver. The Lausanne-based CAS accepted her appeal and a verdict is expected on Friday. Sarah Ann Hildebrandt of the US won the gold defeating Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez.
The UWW though made it clear that the current weigh-in rule will not be changed as of now.
“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 (Nenad Lalovic) was sympathetic. UWW follows the set rules in all competitions including the Games.
“Its decision to disqualify Vinesh is in line with the rules of international wrestling, like all other instances of wrestlers failing to weigh in on the day of the competition.
“UWW will also discuss the suggestion at an appropriate platform but it could not be done retrospectively,” the world body said in a statement late on Wednesday.
The UWW rule of two weigh-ins on both days of the fight has been under scanner. For instance, Mia Lahnee Ramos Aquino, an Olympic Games debutant from Guam in the 53kg category, said there has to be a 2kg concession.
“I think yes. As a woman wrestler, I think there has to be a change in rules,” she said.
“Guys do not go through it. Whether you are menstruating or you have hormonal issues, it’s an ordeal for us, because we tend to become heavier or hold water more in the body in these situations. And when you are having two weigh-ins over two days, there can be a grant of a few kilograms in the second one. The singlet alone is like two grams. In my opinion, there needs to be some kind of allowance.”
Jordan Burroughs, six-time world wrestling champion and Olympic Games gold medallist, is on the same page. “One kg second-day weight allowance and after a semifinal victory, both finalists’ medals are secured even if weight is missed on
Day 2. Gold can only be won by a wrestler who makes weight on the second day,” he wrote on X.
Agrees nutritionist Imona Sarkar. “Bodyweight fluctuation is a very common phenomenon, mainly in women. That’s because of obvious biological differences. The most important difference lies in the hormonal fluctuations a woman encounters in
various phases of their menstrual cycle. This may result in increased hunger, water retention & bloating, causing a temporary weight gain.”
Sarkar pointed out that stress levels can also lead to weight gain. “Stress level (psychological & exercise-induced), which shoots up the stress hormone cortisol, may lead to water retention and weight gain.”
