Vinesh Phogat Disqualified: What Are The Rules & Will She At Least Get Silver Medal In Olympics?

In a major shock, wrestler Vinesh Phogat was on Wednesday disqualified from the Olympics after being found overweight ahead of her women's 50kg final.

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

"She was found overweight by 100gm this morning. The rules do not allow this and she has been disqualified," said an Indian coach. The Indian Olympic Association later confirmed the development and requested privacy for the wrestler, who was competing in her third Olympics.

"It is with regret that the Indian contingent shares news of the disqualification of Vinesh Phogat from the Women's Wrestling 50kg class. Despite the best efforts by the team through the night, she weighed in a few grams over 50kg this morning," the IOA stated.

"No further comments will be made by the contingent at this time. The Indian team requests you to respect Vinesh's privacy. It would like to focus on the competitions on hand," it added.

She had taken down defending champion Yui Susaki en route the finals on Tuesday.

What went wrong for Vinesh Phogat?

On Tuesday, Vinesh Phogat met the weight limit for her bouts. However, the competition rules required wrestlers to maintain their weight category on both days of the event. By Tuesday night, reports revealed that Phogat was nearly two kilograms over the limit.

Determined to compete, Phogat embarked on a grueling effort to shed the excess weight. She spent the entire night jogging, skipping, and cycling, pushing her body to its limits without a moment's rest. Despite her relentless efforts, the Indian delegation's request for additional time to meet the weight requirement was denied by the officials.

The decision was a hard blow, leading to Phogat's disqualification from the competition. This wasn't the first time Phogat faced such adversity. During the Olympic qualifiers, she had also struggled with weight issues, barely managing to meet the limit. As a wrestler in the 53 kg category, Phogat's experiences with weight challenges have been a recurring obstacle in her career, yet her resilience continues to shine through.

Will Vinesh Phogat Get Silver Medal?

According to Olympic rules, Vinesh Phogat will be ineligible for a silver medal. In cases like this, where an athlete is disqualified, only the gold and bronze medals are awarded in the 50 kg category.On failing the test, the UWW said: "If an athlete does not attend or fail the weigh-in (the 1st or the 2nd weigh-in), he/s will be eliminated from the competition and ranked last, without rank."

Chapter 3, Article 11 of the wrestling regulations states: "Weigh-ins are held every morning for each weight category and last 30 minutes. On the second morning, only wrestlers in repechages and finals need to weigh in, and this weigh-in lasts 15 minutes."

Wrestlers must bring their license and accreditation to the medical exam and weigh-in.

Only singlets are allowed during the weigh-in. After being checked by doctors, who will remove any wrestler with a contagious disease, the wrestler can be weighed. No weight tolerance is allowed for the singlet.

Phogat was set to compete against Sarah Hildebrandt in the final, a wrestler she had previously defeated. However, due to her weight issue, Hildebrandt will be awarded the gold medal, and Phogat will leave the competition without a medal.