English
Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s hopes of an elusive Olympics medal were finally dashed on Wednesday (August 14) night when Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) dismissed her appeal to give her silver medal for reaching the wrestling 50kg category final at Paris Olympics 2024. Vinesh was disqualified from the competition when she was found 100gms overweight on the second day of weigh-in ahead of her gold medal match against Sarah Ann Hildebrandt of the United States.
According to Indian contingent’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala, Vinesh was found to be 2.7kg after her semifinal win on day one of her wrestling competition and had around 12 hours to lose this weight. “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,” Pardiwala had informed the media last week.
माना पदक छीना गया तुम्हारा इस अंधकार में,
हीरे की तरह चमक रही हो आज पूरे संसार में।विश्व विजेता हिंदुस्तान की आन बान शान
रूस्तम ए हिंद विनेश फौगाट आप देश के कोहिनूर हैं।
पूरे विश्व में विनेश फौगाट विनेश फौगाट हो रही हैं।जिनको मैडल चाहिए। खरीद लेना 15-15 रू में pic.twitter.com/8P1TwEiTiZ
— Bajrang Punia 🇮🇳 (@BajrangPunia) August 14, 2024
Vinesh managed to shed almost that entire weight but a mere 100gms cost her a shot at a sure-shot Olympics medal. The Indian grappler had participated in 53kg events in as recently as the 2022 World Championships – her normal body weight is reported to be near 57kg – and eight management was a massive challenge for her.
Weight management was a big issue for fellow grappler Antim Panghal as well, who although managed to qualify for the 53kg category but failed to put up any fight in her pre-quarterfinals match to bow out quietly. Even boxer Nikhat Zareen revealed that weight management before her 50kg category round of 16 clash left her with very little in tank to put up a fight.
According to a report by Sportstar website, Vinesh had consumed a glass of juice worth 300 grams after her weigh-in on the first morning. Few more litres of fluid before her bouts had also been consumed to keep her energised for her bouts. This had added a further expected 2,000 grams (2kg). She went on to take a few light snacks in the day to replenish her energy during a challenging road to the final, leading to another gain of about 700 grams.
Vinesh stayed up all night in a bid to reduce the weight. She trained on the treadmill for six hours and was in the sauna for another three. Her coaches took drastic measures like trimming the elastic at the bottom of her costume, and then cut off some of her hair.
The Indian wrestler will now be coming back to India on Saturday (August 17) to a hero’s welcome although she didn’t win an Olympic medal but she represents much more to this country that a piece of yellow metal.
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