100 grams will never just be 100 grams again. Those two words resonate with an entire population owing to the heartbreaking event of which they were part. The disqualification from the Paris Olympics and subsequent retirement of Vinesh Phogat from the world of wrestling. Hers is the story of remarkable resilience and strength in the face of adversity, both physical and mental, but utlimately it is the political insidiousness of the system that shattered her spirit.
What went down during the Paris Olympics and who is responsible?
Vinesh’s first match was against Tokyo Olympics Gold medalist Yui Susaki, who uptil this point had faced defeats in only three bouts in her entire career and had an impressive record of 82-0. The challenge seemed near impossible. The total match lasted six minutes with two rounds of three minutes each, defending herself for the most part, Vinesh in the last 15 seconds, took Yui by surprise and turned the match around. She had beaten the four time wrestling world champion and reigning gold medalist to secure herself in the quarterfinals. This was a historic victory and went viral on social media with praise for her coming from everywhere and sentiments running high in the country, the aim for the gold seemed possible and she seemed more than capable for it. The quarterfinal stage saw Vinesh defeating European champion Oksana Livash by 7-5. In the semifinals she handed a defeat of 5-0 to Cuban wrestler and Pan American champion Yusnevlis Guzman. She created history by being the first Indian woman wrestler to make it to the Olympic finals. Her final match was supposed to be against American wrestler Sarah Hildebrandt, a bronze medalist from the Tokyo Olympics. They had faced off earlier in two bouts in the 53kg category back in 2019 and Vinesh had secured victories in both. Taking this into consideration and looking at her momentum, her chance of winning a gold seemed almost certain, until the news comes the next day of her disqualification (07th August 2024).
0.1kg overweight on the next day was the reason for her is disqualification. In wrestling, bouts (matches) in each weight category are held over the span of two days. The weigh-in is to ensure that the wrestlers are not overweight for their category and takes place in the morning prior to the events beginning. Failure to weigh-in leads to disqualification. On the first day, Vinesh had weighed 49.9kg. After weighing in they are allowed recovery meal for regaining strength and also having water, this leads to a normal weight gain. Vinesh’s nutritionist had anticipated the rehydration weight gain to be 1.5kg which would then be burnt off over the course of night to come within the required limit of 50kg by the morning. Following the semifinal however, her weight was 52.7kg and the weigh in was scheduled for 7:15am the next morning.
She had to lose 2.7kg in one night. Let that sink in. To lose 1.5kg is one thing, this was nearly double that. To do so would mean not having a drop of water or morsel of food for the entire night and constantly exercising, running, skipping, cycling, she went to the sauna, had her hair cut and even blood drawn to keep the weight within the limit. She was able to lose nearly all of it and after all this torture and effort to hear of one’s disqualification is another level of cruelty. Had she had more time that weight would’ve gone as well, but the weigh in was only between 7:15-7:30am.
Following this many other wrestlers and athletes stood in solidarity with Vinesh and her appeal for a joint silver medal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which was later dismissed. One of the prominent athletes was the 2012 Olympic gold medalist and 6-time world champion American athlete Jordan Burroughs who appealed on Twitter to change the rules and award the silver medal to Vinesh.
But Vinesh’s usual weight category was 53kg so then why the shift to 50kg?
Aside from preparing for one of the most important events in the life of an athlete, she was fighting with her colleagues against the injustice of the system of WFI and the normalisation of sexual hrassment that they were facing in the sports industry by the authorities and most prominently by Brij Bhushan Singh. Protesting and sitting at Jantar Mantar, being dragged by the police and completely overlooked by the government and even silenced and vilified by the media, it is beyond vile how badly a country could treat its olympians and athletes who bring pride to their nation by representing them abroad.
Phogat, who secured a gold medal in the 50kg category at the 2018 Asian Games, transitioned to the 53kg weight class for the 2019 World Championships due to difficulties in maintaining the lower weight. She decided to continue competing in the 53kg class thereafter. On January 21, 2023, following a meeting between protesting wrestlers and then-Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, the Ministry of Sports instructed the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to suspend all activities immediately. Subsequently, on April 24, the ministry halted scheduled elections to the WFI and established an ad hoc committee to oversee the sport. This committee faced delays in organizing elections due to various complaints and court rulings, with the WFI being suspended by United World Wrestling (UWW) on August 23 for failing to hold timely elections.
During this sorry saga, there was no clarity on who was actually in charge of the sport and under what rules. To a nominal extent, the adhoc committee incharge of conducting the elections within the period of 40 days was in authority.
Dealing with messy politics and struggling to create a safe space for others and herself in wrestling, during a training session in 2023, she injured her knee. “There was a complete tear in the anterior cruciate ligament, along with a partial tear in the lateral collateral ligament.”Surgery was needed and hence she couldn’t take part in the Asian Games
During this time, Antim Panghal won a bronze medal in the 53kg class at the September 2023 World Championships. According to Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) rules, Panghal’s achievement secured the Olympic quota for the 53kg category. This meant that Vinesh couldn’t compete in her preferred category but by no means should this imply that Antim used unfair methods to her advantage and this shouldn’t justify any animosity towards her.
Never has it been clearer who is the authority wholeheartedly responsible for this pathetic mess, the WFI. First, they made a rule that the quota winners will have to go through trials. The Ad Hoc Committee had assured that there will be a trial for the quota but on 21st May they suddenly announced that there will be no trial and that it is a one-time-only exemption and not a precedent for the future. By this time, Sanjay Singh had become WFI's President.
Had there been trials, Antim would have faced bouts with Vinesh and the other three wrestlers. During March, when the trials were being held in Patiala's National Institute of Sport, Vinesh finished in the top 4 in the 53 kg category. Had trials been done, Vinesh might have defeated Antim and competed in the 53 kg category in the Paris Olympics.
But WFI took away this opportunity from Vinesh. Since then, Vinesh rightfully had doubts as to the certainty of the promises and protocol of the WFI. They may skip quota trials every time. That is why, Vinesh Phogat made a bold decision. In these trials in Patiala, not only did she compete in the 53 kg category, but also in the 50 kg category. She competed in two categories, so that she could not be robbed of her chance to go to the Paris Olympics. This is being aatmanirbhar on another level.
After all these pains and struggles to not receive a single medal despite the remarkable performance uptil the finals is a cruel fate. What was even more horrendous was the arguments given by the CAS for the dismissal of her appeal, being called draconian by the IOA, who are exploring other legal options.
Its in times like these and for people with an iron resolve like Vinesh and countless other women, that the words of Abhinav Bhindra while congratulating Phogat really hit hard: Every child will grow up wanting to face life with the resilience you have displayed. I thank you for that.
Comments