Indian wrestler Inesh Phogat was taken to hospital after being disqualified from the 2024 Paris Olympics for failing to make weight for her women’s 50kg gold medal match. She was due to face Team USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt in the final on Thursday night, but the bout was scrapped following her second mandatory weigh-in.
The Indian Olympic Association confirmed the news in a released statement.
“It is with regret that the Indian contingent shares news of the disqualification of Vinesh Phogat from the women’s wrestling 50kg class,” they said.
“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 by the contingent at this time.”
And in an apparent plea to the media, the statement concluded: “The Indian team requests you respect Vinesh’s privacy. It would like to focus on the competitions on hand.”
And the Hindustan Timees have reported that Phogat, 29, fainted due to dehydration minutes after she was disqualified. She was eligible to compete on Wednesday’s opening day after making weight, but the rules state that a competitor must also take to the scales the following day if they qualify for repechage or final matches.
Phogat, a three-time Commonwealth Games champion, had beaten top seed and defending Olympic champion Yui Susaki of Japan in the opening round. In the quarter-finals, she overcame European champion Oksana Livach of Ukraine.
And her stellar form continued in her semi-final bout, beating reigning Pan American Games champion Yusneylis Guzman of Cuba, with the judges awarding a score of 10-0 in her favour. That had seemingly guaranteed her a silver medal, but Phogat will now leave France without a medal.
Instead, it’s Guzman who will be reinstated to face the sixth seeded Hildebrandt. And it’s the second times a Summer Games has ended in controversy for Phogat.
Three years ago, she competed in the woimen’s 53kg event at the Tokyo Olympics, beaten in the quarter-finals by Belarusian Vanesa Kaladzinskaya. But upon returning home, she was suspended by her country’s governing body.
Phogat had allegedly refused to train with her Indian teammates at the Olympic Village and had not worn the official Indian kit in Japan. She was later reinstated after issuing an apology.
