From cutting hair to fasting for days, how Vinesh Phogat battled to compete in a new weight class

Vinesh Phogat's coaches and support staff went to great lengths to help her meet the required 50kg weight limit before the official weigh-in for her highly anticipated gold medal match against USA's Sarah Hildebrandt at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Despite their efforts, Vinesh, who made history as India's first female wrestler to reach an Olympic final, was ultimately disqualified for being 100gm over the weight limit for her category.

This disqualification not only cost Vinesh the opportunity to compete for the gold medal but also nullified her victories from the previous day, leaving her with no rank in the competition. Unfortunately, Vinesh will not even receive the silver medal she had secured by reaching the finals.

As per the United World Westling rules, “If an athlete does not attend or fails the weigh-in, he or she will be eliminated from the competition and ranked last without a ranking.”

The United World Wrestling technical delegate has announced that the repechage round between Japanese wrestler Yui Susako and Ukrainian wrestler Oksana Livach will now determine the bronze medalist in their weight class.

“Vinesh failed [the] second-day weigh-in. According to article 11 of the International Wrestling Rules, Vinesh will be replaced by the wrestler who lost against her in the semi-final,” the delegate said in a statement. “Therefore, Guzman Lopez Yusneylis will compete in the final. Repechage Susaki Yui vs Livach Oksana will become a bronze medal match.”

Vinesh's coaches went above and beyond to support her in her quest. According to the India Express, the 29-year-old successfully passed the weigh-in before her event on Tuesday morning, only to be found 2kg overweight later that night. Determined to help Vinesh meet the weight requirement, her coaches kept her awake throughout the night, increasing her stress levels. She refrained from eating or drinking for over 12 hours, engaging in intense physical activities such as jogging, skipping, and cycling to shed the excess weight.

Despite their efforts, as reported by The Sportstar, the coaches resorted to cutting Vinesh's hair and other methods, but unfortunately, they did not achieve the desired outcome. These extreme measures left Vinesh feeling weak, frail, and dehydrated, prompting her to be taken to a medical facility within the Olympic village after experiencing dizziness and a brief loss of consciousness.

The process of cutting weight is a challenging ordeal that wrestlers often endure when their natural body weight exceeds the limit for their competition division. Vinesh's natural weight hovers around 56-57kg, requiring significant effort to reach the 50kg mark for her category.

Vinesh was not the only wrestler to face disqualification due to weight-related issues in the 50kg category. On the same day, Italy's Emanuela Liuzzi was also forced to forfeit her preliminary bout after failing to meet the weight requirement.

Also read| Why Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from Paris Olympics final? Full details, weigh-in rules explained