India’s Vinesh Phogat faced a harsh reality on Wednesday (Aug 7) after she was disqualified from the 50kg freestyle wrestling category at the Paris Olympics. Vinesh who was set to fight for the gold medal match against United States’ Sarah Hildebrandt will now return with empty hands from Paris. However, there are reports that the Indian grappler could have landed a silver medal had she taken an unusual decision and withdrawn from the gold medal match.
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. No further comments will be made…
— Team India (@WeAreTeamIndia) August 7, 2024
Could Vinesh have won the Silver medal?
While India remains upset about not winning the medal, the rule books of the UWW (United World Wrestling) clearly mention that there was no way Vinesh was going to be eligible for a medal. According to Article 56 of the UWW, “If a wrestler gets injured or has a disease that happens after the first day of competition and out of competition, the concerned athlete will have to attend the second weigh-in otherwise he/she will be eliminated of the competition and ranked last, without rank.”
This means, Vinesh was obliged to attend the second weigh-in and would have been disqualified anyway had she not done so.
What happens now?
According to the latest developments, Hildebrandt will face Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez in the gold medal match with the loser getting the silver. Mongolia’s Dolgorjavyn Otgonjargal will get the bronze medal as she remains in third place after Guzman Lopez advanced to the final. Meanwhile, wrestlers who lost the eventual gold medal winner will compete in the repechage round for another bronze medal.
What would have happened if the final bout took place on Tuesday?
As per manuals, the 29-year-old was eligible for Tuesday bouts meaning had the final of the 50kg freestyle wrestling category taken place on the same day, she could have won a medal. However, since the bouts took place on different days, the grapplers needed to weigh again and Vinesh remained unfortunate. Interestingly, in earlier Olympics, the wrestling matches would take place on the same day, meaning in previous editions Vinesh would have ended with at least a silver medal.
