Entire India is trying to come to terms with the fact that wrestler Vinesh Phogat will have to come back home empty-handed, despite making it to the final of the women’s 50 kg category at Paris Olympics. The wrestler was disqualified for being overweight after a weigh-in on Wednesday morning, and India lost a chance to maybe get their first gold medal in Paris.
While the reasons for this slip up are yet not clear, this isn’t the first time Vinesh has suffered on account of being overweight. yes, that’s right. Before this fiasco, there is one more instance where Vinesh was disqualified for the same reason.
Vinesh Phogat’s Weight Issues
Back in 2016, in the lead up to the Rio 2016 Olympics, Vinesh was disqualified from the 1st World Olympic Qualifying event for being overweight. As per old reports, the now 29-year-old wrestler was 400 gm overweight, for the 48 kg competition. A source from the WFI was quoted as saying, ‘Vinesh was overweight by 400 gm, so she was disqualified from the competition.’
The report further read, ‘Vinesh and the coaches have been hauled up for costing India a chance to qualify for the Rio Games. Since she is a first time offender, she has been given a warning.’ Back then Vinesh had asked for forgiveness, as per the PTI report, dated April 23, 2016.
Later, Vinesh did qualify for the Rio Games eventually, but her journey was cut short by the Chinese wrestler Sun Yanan. The Indian was not only ousted in the bout, but also suffered a career-threatening injury, after which she was stretchered off.
Vinesh Admitted..
In fact, Vinesh had herself admitted back in April this year, that it would be quite challenging for her to stay withing limits for 50 kg category. She had said, “I will have to manage my weight a lot better. I have brought myself down to 50kg after so long, so I will try and maintain this as much as I can. It’s easy for me not to put on weight because my muscle mass is very high.”
