Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 7: The United World Wrestling (UWW) has virtually rejected the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) appeal for reconsideration of Olympic-medal expectant Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification for overweight by 100 grams even as its president Sanjay Singh blasted her support staff for failing to control her weight disappointing 140 crores people of the country.
The UWW president Nenad Lalovic said even though Vinesh Phogat was overweight by a small margin, the rules should be respected. “Rules are rules. I am so sad about what happened to her. Even though she was overweight by a small margin, but we have to respect the rules. Nothing can be done,” he said.
Following her disqualification from the 50-kg category final at the Paris Olympics, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president P. T. Usha on Wednesday provided an update on the Indian grappler’s health and said she was physically and medically doing fine though was mentally disappointed.
PT Usha met Phogat at the medical centre of the Olympic Village in Paris. Speaking at a press conference, P. T. Usha said she was “shocked and disappointed” after knowing about Phogat’s disqualification. The IOA president said Phogat was mentally disappointed, adding that the Indian support staff were with her and working with her to reduce her weight.
“I met Vinesh at the Olympic Village Polyclinic a short while ago and assured her of complete support of the Indian Olympic Association, Government of India and the whole country. We are providing Vinesh all medical and emotional support.
“The Wrestling Federation of India has filed an appeal to UWW to reconsider the decision to disqualify Vinesh and IOA is following that up in the strongest possible manner.” The IOA chief said despite concerted efforts from all, Phogat could not meet the competition’s weight requirements.
“I am aware of the relentless efforts made by Vinesh, medical team, led by Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala and the Chef-de-Mission Gagan Narang through the night to ensure that she could meet the competition requirements,” Usha said. “The IOA is taking every step to ensure that the morale of the contingent remains high. We are sure all Indians will stand with Vinesh and the entire Indian contingent.”
Phogat had entered the Gold Medal bout after beating Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez 5-0 in the semi-finals on Tuesday night.
In the aftermath of Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification, the WFI president Sanjay Singh came down heavily on her support staff for the oversight of the Vinesh being found overweight by 100g and called for an investigation and urged the Indian government to ‘take strict action against those responsible because they have let down 1.4 billion people of India.’
“In the morning, I received a call from the village that Vinesh’s weight had increased. Not just by 100 grams but significantly overweight. I immediately contacted the officials of UWW who were weighing her, and they informed me the weight was too much. I requested some time and leniency, but they refused, stating they have their rules,” Singh revealed on how he found out Vinesh was overweight.
Sanjay Singh emphasised the emotional impact of the disqualification. “It is unfortunate that India’s daughter, who was expected to win the gold medal, has been disqualified. The entire country was anticipating her victory. May God give her strength because she fought three matches brilliantly, and the whole country stands with her.”
Singh went on to target Vinesh’s support staff for the whole fiasco “I do not consider it Vinesh’s fault because she was performing exceptionally well. Our coach and supporting staff, including the physio and nutritionist, should have ensured she did not face any issues. This situation warrants an investigation, and I demand the Indian government take strict action against those responsible because they have let down 1.4 billion people of India.”
Discussing the broader implications, Singh remarked, “There needs to be a reassessment of the training protocols. While personal coaches have been allowed, the federation should have a more active role. Moving forward, wrestlers should practice with WFI-approved coaches who meet UWW standards to prevent such incidents,” he said.