Was disqualified for being overweight too, hope Vinesh reconsiders retirement, says cousin Babita

New Delhi: Babita Phogat recalled her ordeal of getting disqualified for being overweight and hoped it will only fuel her cousin Vinesh Phogat to make a U-turn on retirement and have a crack at an Olympic medal in Los Angeles Games four years later.

Vinesh was disqualified from appearing in the 50kg freestyle gold medal match on Wednesday for being overweight by 100 grams at the weigh-in before the bout.

She filed a lawsuit at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, asking for the silver medal to be awarded to her before announcing her retirement even before an interim order could be passed on the matter.

The 29-year-old said she doesn’t have the strength to continue playing after a cruel end to her third successive attempt at an Olympic medal.

But Babita hoped it was an emotional decision taken in the heat of the moment and her cousin would try harder to fulfill the family dream.

“We hope that she will reconsider her decision and work hard to win a gold medal in 2028 and fulfil the dream of her mother and my father. Dad (Mahavir Phogat) has also said that once she come home, he will try to convince her to reconsider the decision and get back on the mat,” Babita told PTI.

Aware of what Vinesh went through

Commonwealth Games gold medallist Babita also recalled how she wqs barred from competing for being overweight, saying that she knew full well what Vinesh must have gone through during the difficult moment.

“In 2012, even I was not able to play the Asian Championship because I was overweight by 200 grams. There are several other instances where wrestlers have been disqualified for being overweight. The entire world knows this happened because of the (wrestling) rules,” the former world championship bronze medallist said.

Babita’s personal equation with Vinesh is believed to be anything but smooth as the BJP functionary was accused by Vinesh of diluting the fierceness of the agitation against former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was accused of sexual misconduct against female grapplers.

“If you cannot stand for the rights of the wrestlers, then Babita we request you not to weaken out movement,” Vinesh had then said.

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 Vinesh Phogat retired from wrestling after getting disqualified from appearing in the 50kg freestyle gold medal match for being overweight at Paris Olympics  Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today