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In a heartbreaking turn of events at the Paris Olympics, Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the 50kg women’s freestyle wrestling final. Despite becoming the first Indian woman to qualify for a wrestling final at the Olympics, Vinesh was disqualified for weighing just 100 grams over the 50kg limit.
Usually competing in the 53kg category, Vinesh switched to the 50kg category for the Games. On Tuesday night, her weight increased by 1kg, forcing her to take extreme measures to reduce it. Vinesh cut her hair, tried drawing blood, and did intense cycling exercises to sweat off the weight. Despite managing to lose 900 grams, she couldn’t shed the last 100 grams.
Fellow wrestler Ravi Dahiya explained that athletes have a specific time frame to meet weight requirements. If they don’t make the weight by the deadline, there’s no second chance. Vinesh had trained rigorously, even skipping meals, to try and meet the weight limit.
Before the Olympics, Vinesh had undergone intense sauna sessions to compete in the 50kg category. Her coach had suggested cutting her hair before the Games, but she ultimately did it herself in Paris, hoping to meet the weight requirement. Unfortunately, her efforts were in vain, leading to her disqualification and dashing hopes of a gold medal.
