India won a total of six medals at the Paris Olympics, however, the count could have been seven if not for 100grams. Vinesh Phogat, India's star wrestler, was assured of at least a silver medal in the women's 50kg freestyle wrestling. However, she was disqualified on the morning of her gold medal bout against USA's Sarah Hildebrandt after failing to meet the weight cut by 100 grams. Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman, whom Vinesh defeated 5-0 in the semifinal, replaced the Indian in the gold medal bout. While Hildebrandt clinched gold, and Guzman settled for silver, Vinesh had to return empty handed from Paris.
Vinesh did file an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Paris for a joint silver but the petition was dismissed by the Ad Hoc division on Wednesday. The petition by Vinesh was examined by the CAS for close to a week before reaching to a conclusion.
However, what is done is done and in this article we take a look at how Vinesh, who met the weight cut on the opening day, failed to do so on the next morning, the day of the women's 50kg freestyle wrestling final.
Vinesh, who usually competes in the 53kg category chose to participate in the 50kg division as Antim Panghal represented India in the former weight category. Antim endured a 0-10 loss against Turkey’s Zeynep Yetgil, her first bout at the Olympics and it was wrapped inside 101 seconds.
Coming back to Vinesh, she started her campaign with a win over the reigning champion Yui Susaki of Japan, then proceeded to win two more bouts to storm into the finals, making her the first Indian female grappler to achieve this feat. However, the whole incident sparked after this as Vinesh found herself 2.7kgs above the eligibility criteria after the bouts. Without wasting any time, Vinesh started a rigorous process of shedding the extra kilos.
"...Her post-participation weight at the end of the semi-finals in the evening was found to be 2.7 kg more than the allowed weight. The team and the coach started off their usual process, which is of course limitation of water, no food," India's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala was quoted as saying by ANI.
A report in Sportstar said, Vinesh had consumed a glass of juice, worth 300 grams, after her weigh-in on the first morning. She then took a few more liters of fluid ahead of her bouts to maintain the energy level. This led to an addition of around 2kgs. During the day she also ate few light snacks, which led to another addition of 700 grams.
The report mentioned that in order to shed the extra kilos, Vinesh tried everything possible. It included a run on treadmill for six hours. She also spent three hours in the sauna and didn't consume any water or food overnight. In addition, she also indulged in intense skipping sessions and despite giving everything she failed to attain the desired results.
In what appeared to be a last resort for her coaches, they trimmed the elastic from her outfit, also chopped her hair, but all efforts went in vain.
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