'It's part of the game': Vinesh Phogat tells Indian coaches after losing Olympic medal

It's part of the game, a brave Vinesh tells Indian coaches after losing Olympic medal

Vinesh Phogat showed great courage despite missing out on a sure shot Olympic medal due to disqualification. She failed to meet the weight cut on the morning of her gold medal bout in the women's 50kg freestyle wrestling, failing the mark by 100gms. (Follow | India at Olympics 2024 Live Updates)

Vinesh had cleared the weight cut for her bouts lined up on Tuesday but measured two kilograms above the eligibility mark later in the night. The grappler then went through a rigorous routing to shed down her extra weight. She even cut her hair but her efforts went in vain.

Despite the huge setback, Vinesh maintained a brave demeanour when Indian national coaches Virender Dahiya and Manjeet Rani met the feisty wrestler.

"It's part of the game," a brave Vinesh Phogat told the Indian coaches, as reported by PTI.

Also Read: PT Usha assures complete support to Vinesh Phogat after Olympic disqualification, informs WFI filed appeal

Dahiya sharing the details of their meeting told PTI: "It sent a shockwave through the wrestling contingent. The girls were feeling pretty low after the news broke. We met Vinesh and tried to console her. She was brave. She told us, 'it's hard luck that we missed the medal, but it is part of the game'."

"Several IOA officials were also there to meet her."

Meanwhile, another Indian grappler had a terrible outing on Day 12 of the Games in Paris. She endured a 0-10 loss against Turkey’s Zeynep Yetgil as the latter wrapped the bout quickly, accumulating all the points in Period 1.

"She just could not play her game, did not look in her element," said the coach.