Vinesh Phogat’s petition rejected: ‘Mother, I lost and I won the wrestling match…’ Saying this during the Paris Olympics, India’s star wrestler Vinesh Phogat announced her retirement. Why did she use these words of despair and sadness? Everyone knows this. The rules overpowered the spirit and passion of Vinesh, who defeated many wrestlers, and she had to face defeat in the legal battle outside the ring.
In the ring, Vinesh defeated 3 strong wrestlers in a single day to win the gold medal in Paris Olympics. She just had to play the final match, winning which she would have won the gold. But a rule of wrestling came between this medal match and Vinesh, in front of which this Indian wrestler lost.
In fact, during the Paris Olympics, Vinesh had confirmed the silver medal by entering the finals of 50 kg freestyle wrestling by playing 3 consecutive matches on August 6. The gold medal match was to be held on the night of August 7, but Vinesh was disqualified on the same morning because her weight before the match was 100 grams more than the 50 kg category.
After this, Vinesh appealed to CAS. Her first demand was that she should be allowed to play the gold medal match. But citing the rules, her demand was immediately rejected. After this, Vinesh appealed and said that she should be given the silver medal in this event. Now this appeal has also been rejected.
Vinesh fought a legal battle for 8 days outside the ring for the silver medal, but she lost here and now she will have to return to India without the medal. Vinesh is still in Paris. However, she has left the Olympic Village. Now she is staying in a hotel. Vinesh will return to India on August 17.
It was a very difficult task for Vinesh to cross the first round in Paris Olympics, because her first match was against the Japanese player who had won the gold medal in Tokyo Olympics without losing a single point. Actually, Vinesh was facing the challenge of last Olympics winner and 4-time world champion Yui Susaki.
Before competing with Vinesh, Susaki had not faced a single defeat in her international career. Susaki had won 82 matches in a row. Vinesh defeated such a strong wrestler 3-2. Susaki could not do anything against Vinesh in the match.
Then Vinesh’s quarterfinal match was against Ukraine’s number-1 female wrestler Oxana Livach. But in this too Vinesh registered a stunning victory by 7-5. On the same day Vinesh had to play her semifinal match against Cuban wrestler Yusnelis Guzman. Despite defeating two wrestlers consecutively, Vinesh’s morale was high. In such a situation, she defeated Guzman 5-0 and made it to the final.
Now the question in the minds of the fans is what happened in one night that Vinesh was eliminated? Fans would also like to know about the rule due to which Vinesh was eliminated. Let’s know about it…
Actually, there are weight categories in wrestling. That means a wrestler has to fight with a wrestler of equal weight in the match. For example, Vinesh had entered in the 50 kg weight category. In such a situation, the weight of both Vinesh and the wrestler in front should not have been more than 50 kg. United World Wrestling (UWW) has the right to make rules in this sport.
Article 11 of UWW says- Before entering the match, the team leader has to give the name of the ‘final athletes’ who will fight in the match. This information has to be given in advance. The player is weighed before every match. The weight details have to be submitted by 12 hours a day before the match. There is no match with a wrestler of any other weight category other than one’s own weight category.
According to the rules, any athlete who does not meet the weight limit is disqualified from the competition. Apart from this, if an athlete does not weigh himself in both the first and second rounds, he is disqualified. He is also placed in the last position without being given any rank.
During the weigh-in, only one piece of clothing called a ‘singlet’ is allowed to be worn. The contestant’s nails must also be properly trimmed during the weigh-in. Wrestlers can get weighed as many times as they want during the entire weighing process.
Vinesh gave these four arguments during the hearing
1. Vinesh argued that she did not commit any fraud.
2. His weight gain was due to the body’s natural recovery process.
3. Vinesh also argued that it is the fundamental right of an athlete to take care of his or her body.
4. It was also argued on behalf of Vinesh that her body weight was less than the prescribed limit on the first day of the competition. The weight increased only due to recovery and this is not a case of cheating. It is her fundamental right to fulfill the nutrients required for her body to be healthy.
Wrestler Vinesh retired from wrestling
The next day after the final on 7 August, Vinesh announced her retirement from wrestling. She wrote in a social media post, ‘Maa wrestling won over me. I lost, sorry, your dream, my courage, all are broken. I don’t have more strength now. Goodbye wrestling 2001-2024. She apologized and said that she will always be indebted to all of you.’
Vinesh has won 3 gold medals in Commonwealth
Vinesh Phogat has won 3 consecutive gold medals in the Commonwealth Games. She won these gold medals in 2014 Glasgow, 2018 Gold Coast and 2022 Birmingham Games. Apart from this, Vinesh also won gold in the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games.
She also won the gold medal in the Asian Championship 2021. Apart from this, she also won 3 silver medals in the Asian Championship. Vinesh Phogat has been able to win the bronze medal only twice in the World Championship so far.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)