Vinesh Phogat disqualified from Paris Olympics: Cuba's Yusneylis Guzman Lopez replaces Indian grappler in wrestling 50kg finals

Vinesh Phogat and Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez (in blue) compete in the Women’s Freestyle 50kg semifinal at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Tuesday. (PTI)

Cuba's Yusneylis Guzman Lopez will replace Vinesh Phogat in the women's 50kg freestyle wrestling final against USA's Sarah Hildebrandt at the Paris Olympics. The replacement comes after Vinesh was disqualified to participate in the final after missing the weigh cut on the morning of the medal bout. As per reports, Vinesh missed the mark by a little over 100 grams during the weigh-in. (Follow | Paris Olympics Day 12 Live Updates)

The Indian grappler had defeated Guzman 5-0 in the semifinal to assure India of at least a silver medal in the competition. With this feat she had become the first female Indian wrestler to reach the Olympic final, but will now longer be a part of the historic bout.

Guzman was scheduled to take on Mongolia's Dolgorjavyn Otgonjargal in the bronze medal match. She has been replaced with China's Feng Ziqi.

“Vinesh failed second day weigh-in. According to the arcticle 11 of the International Wrestling Rules, Vinesh will be replaced by the wrestler who lost against her in the Semifinal. Therefore Yusneylis Guzman Lopez (Cuba) will compete in the Final,” said the organisers in an official statement.

Meanwhile, the Indian Olympic Association had also released a statement on Vinesh. It read: "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."

In the other semifinal, which is also a bronze medal bout, reigning Olympic champion Yui Susaki of Japan takes on Ukraine's Oksana Livach. The Indian had stormed into the finals after defeating both the bronze medallist finalists. The Indian grappler produced the biggest upset at the ongoing Games by defeating the Japanese 3-2.

Vinesh then continued her impressive show and defeated Ukraine's Oksana Livach 7-5 in the women’s freestyle 50kg wrestling quarterfinal.