What Happened With Vinesh Phogat? Olympics Controversy Explained

Vinesh Phogat is an Indian professional wrestler who participated in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. She is a three-time Olympian and made it to the women’s freestyle 50kg wrestling final this year. However, she was sadly disqualified after the weigh-in on the morning of the event. Let’s find out what exactly happened with Vinesh Phogat and why she was disqualified.

Why was Vinesh Phogat disqualified from the Olympics?

Vinesh Phogat was disqualified for being slightly over the 50kg weight limit before her final wrestling match.

During her 2024 Paris Olympics run, Phogat made her way to the finals of the Women’s Freestyle 50kg wrestling event. This gave her a chance to win the first-ever gold for India in wrestling. However, Vinesh was found to be around 150 grams overweight at the weigh-in before the final. As a result, she was disqualified from the competition. This disqualification came as a massive blow for India, as she looked like a very strong contender for the gold.

After the weigh-in, the Indian Olympic Association confirmed her disqualification on X (formerly Twitter). The statement read, “It is with regret that the Indian contingent shares news of the disqualification of Vinesh Phogat from the Women’s Wrestling 50kg class. Despite the best efforts by the team through the night, she weighed in a few grams over 50kg this morning.”

After defeating Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez in the semi-final, Phogat was about to face the USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt in the final on August 7. However, due to this disqualification, she will not receive any medal. Yusneylis Guzman Lopez will now go against Sarah Hildebrandt in the 50kg final. “No further comments will be made by the contingent at this time. The Indian team requests you respect Vinesh’s privacy. It would like to focus on the competitions on hand,” the IOA further added in their statement.

As per Sportstar, a member of her camp told them that she did her best to bring her weight down to 50kg during the night. “She didn’t sleep even a minute, didn’t drink a sip of water, and didn’t have a morsel of food. She spent the entire night running and using the sauna.” Further, the source added, “She made it to 50.1 kg but didn’t have time to cut the last 100 grams. There was no leeway and no extra time to make weight.”