Vinesh Phogat disqualified: How are wrestlers weighed in Olympics? News9 Plus Decodes

Vinesh Phogat disqualified: How are wrestlers weighed in Olympics? News9 Plus Decodes

The fairy-tale script which moved from protests to podium has turned into a tragedy. Vinesh Phogat’s wait for the medal will continue for at least another four years. And the villain is weight: A couple of 100 grams over Olympic norms.

Within hours, Vinesh Phogat led millions of Indians to emotions of ecstasy to agony. PM Modi was among those who lauded Vinesh and stood in solidarity with the wrestler. But this isn’t the first time that Vinesh has been disqualified for being overweight.

Her story is one of overcoming odds and putting adversity on the mat. She slept on pavements for more than a month and became the face of the protests against discredited Wrestling Federation chief and sexual harassment accused Brijbhushan Sharan Singh. The image of her being dragged by policewomen at a protest is still vivid in people’s minds.

She bounced back after injury in Rio and Tokyo to qualify for the Paris Olympics for a third shot at glory. But she faltered at the final stage because of being a few hundred grams overweight.

Why was Vinesh Phogat disqualified for the Olympics?

Vinesh, who was on her way to become the country’s first woman wrestler to reach the Olympics final by defeating World and Olympic 50kg champion Yui Susaki, was eliminated for being overweight ahead of her final bout against USA’s Sarah Ann Hildebrandt on August 7th. Vinesh was found to be overweight by exactly 100gm during the weigh-in on the morning of her final. She will lose her confirmed medal, for which she was to fight for gold on Wednesday.

Is this the first time that Phogat has been disqualified for being overweight?

No, this isn’t the first time Phogat has found it tough to make the weight. In 2016, in an embarrassment for India, she was also disqualified from the 1st World Olympic Qualifying event at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, for being 400 gram overweight more than her weight category.She faced a similar ordeal even during the Olympic qualifiers, where she narrowly made the cut.

What does the rulebook say?

According to Article 11, chapter three of the international wrestling competition rules reserved by the parent body, United World Wrestling the weigh-in is organized each morning of the concerned weight-category. “The weigh-in and the medical control lasts 30 minutes. The second morning of the concerned weight category only the wrestlers who participate in the repechages and finals have to come for the weigh-in. This weigh-in will last 15 minutes.”

This means Vinesh, her gold medal competitor, USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt, and the repechage winners were weighed in for the second time before their medal matches on Wednesday morning. Vinesh failed this test after she was found overweight.

What is the procedure for the weigh-in?

The only uniform allowed for the weigh-in is the singlet. After being examined by physicians who can eliminate any wrestler who may have a contagious disease, the wrestler can be weighed in. No weight tolerance can be allowed for the singlet.

Contestants must be in perfect physical condition, with their fingernails cut very short. Throughout the entire weigh-in period, wrestlers have the right, each in turn, to get on the scale as many times as they wish.

The referees responsible for the weigh-in must check that all wrestlers are of the weight corresponding to the category in which they are entered for the competition.

 This isn’t the first time Phogat has found it tough to make the weight. In 2016 she was also disqualified from the World Olympic Qualifying event at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.  Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today