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Dream of wrestling Gold shattered: Why Vinesh Phogat was disqualified

Although she successfully made the weight for Tuesday's matches, the rules mandate that wrestlers must remain within their weight category on both days of the competition.

Vinesh Phogat
Vinesh was scheduled to take on United States's Sarah Ann Hildebrandt in the Gold Medal watch.
Anish Kumar New Delhi
6 min read Last Updated : Aug 07 2024 | 3:55 PM IST
In a major development at the Paris Olympics 2024, India's Vinesh Phogat has been disqualified after failing to meet the required weight for her 50 kg gold medal bout. Although she successfully made the weight for Tuesday’s matches, the rules mandate that wrestlers must remain within their weight category on both days of the competition.

"She was found overweight by 100gm this morning. The rules do not allow this and she has been disqualified," said an Indian coach.

Check Paris Olympics 2024 Day 12 (August 7) LIVE SCORE, MEDAL AND MATCH UPDATES HERE

Vinesh was scheduled to take on United States's Sarah Ann Hildebrandt in the Gold Medal watch.

A statement issued by the Indian Olympic contingent said that Phogat had tipped the scales above the 50 kg mark and was disqualified.

"It is with regret that the Indian contingent shares news of the disqualification of Vinesh Phogat from the Women's Wrestling 50 kg class. Despite the best efforts by the team through the night, she weighed in a few grams over 50 kg this morning. No further comments will be made by the contingent at this time. The Indian team requests you respect Vinesh's privacy. It would like to focus on the competitions on hand," the statement read.


Vinesh had entered the Gold Medal bout after beating Cuba's Yusneylis Guzman Lopez 5-0 in the semi-finals on Tuesday night.

Vinesh had scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the gold medal bout in the event on Tuesday night.

Will Vinesh Phogat get a medal despite being disqualified?

The disqualification means that Vinesh will end medal-less in the Games as international rules stipulate that any grappler found overweight at the time of weigh-in ends up at the bottom of the final standings

She had taken down defending champion Yui Susaki of Japan en route the finals on Tuesday and was to face American Sarah Ann Hildebrandt in the summit bout this evening.

Does Vinesh first grappler to get disqualified at Paris Olympics 2024?

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Topics :Vinesh Phogat2024 Olympics

First Published: Aug 07 2024 | 12:39 PM IST

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