What did Vinesh Phogat eat and drink before failing to make weight at Paris Olympics 2024?

New Delhi: Vinesh Phogat missed out on a chance to create history at the Paris Olympics 2024 in the most heartbreaking manner after she was disqualified from the competition ahead of the final in the women’s 50kg freestyle category. But it was not an opponent who defeated Vinesh, she lost the gold medal by 100 grams of weight which shattered her dream of a lifetime.

Vinesh failed to make weight on the morning of Wednesday ahead of her gold medal bout against USA’s Sarah Ann Hildebrandt. She was 100 grams above the permissible limit of 50 kg and was thus disqualified from the competition and stripped of the confirmed silver medal. Cuba’s Yusneylys Guzman Lopez took her spot in the final and was awarded the silver medal after losing against Hildebrandt on Wednesday.

Details have emerged of the kind of struggle the 29-year-old had to undergo to cut weight and bring it down under 50kg ahead of her weigh-in on Wednesday. While she had no food or water for the entire night before her final, Vinesh had to eat to replenish herself during her bouts on Tuesday. She fought in a total of three matches and won all of them.

Vinesh opened her campaign at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday with a stunning victory against 4-time world champion Yui Susaki of Japan. Susaki, who was undefeated in the last five years, lost to a non-Japanese for the first time in international wrestling in the pre-quarterfinal against Vinesh. The Indian wrestler then defeated Oksana Livach in the quarter-final before beating Guzman in the semi-final to become the first Indian woman to reach a wrestling final at the Olympics.

What did Vinesh Phogat consume on Tuesday?

As per a report in Sportstar, Vinesh weighed 49.90 kg in the weigh-in ahead of her opening bout against Susaki. She could barely walk ahead of her first bout and replenished herself with a glass of juice to celebrate after making her weight. She went on to have a couple of litres of fluid later throughout the day to keep herself hydrated and get her through her three bouts in the day.

The fluids increased 2kg body weight. Vinesh also had light snacks to keep her going throughout the day which added another 700 grams to her body weight. At the end of her semi-final bout on Tuesday, Vinesh’s weight had increased to 52.7kg. The struggle began after the semi-final as the wrestler had little time to cut weight and ensure she was back under 50kg for her second weigh-in on Wednesday.

What happened on the night before weigh-in

After winning her semi-final which assured her of a medal at the Paris Olympics, Vinesh immediately shifted attention to winning an even bigger battle off the mat. She had to lose over 2 kgs in a few hours to ensure she was within the permissible weight limit ahead of the final. But it was not going to be easy.

The 29-year-old didn’t sleep the entire night and didn’t consume an ounce of water or food which could have spiked her body weight. She was on the treadmill for as many as six hours and also spent three hours in sauna, trying to get out the last bit of water left in her body through sweat. However, all her efforts went in vain.

In a desperate move, the Indian coaches and support staff cut the wrestler’s hair to ensure she got through the weigh-in. However, when Vinesh stood on the weighing machine in the morning it read 50.01. Several attempts later, it was confirmed nothing more could be done as the referees and two volunteers present during the weigh-in, recorded Vinesh’s weight and deemed her ineligible to compete for being around 100 grams over the permissible limit.

While there is still some hope for Vinesh to be awarded a joint silver medal after she filed an appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), the 29-year-old has announced her retirement from wrestling following the disqualification row at the Paris Games.

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 Vinesh Phogat had no water or food for the entire night ahead of her weigh-in on Wednesday morning before her gold medal match. However, she did eat to replinish herself during her three bouts that took place on Tuesday. Vinesh was disqualified ahead of her gold medal match at the Paris Olympics 2024 for being overweight by 100 grams.  Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today