Following the heartbreaking disqualification of wrestler Vinesh Phogat from the Paris Olympics after failing to make the weight cut, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried consoling her by calling her a “champion among champions.”
In a message via social media on Wednesday, August 7, the Prime Minister wrote, “Vinesh, you are a champion among champions! You are India’s pride and an inspiration for each and every Indian. Today’s setback hurts. I wish words could express the sense of despair that I am experiencing. At the same time, I know that you epitomise resilience. It has always been your nature to take challenges head on. Come back stronger! We are all rooting for you.”
Vinesh Phogat, who was on the cusp of clinching the gold medal for India at the Paris Olympics, was disqualified on the morning of her much-anticipated gold medal match over variations in her body weight for the 50-kg category. Vinesh had brought her weight down from 53 kg to 50 kg to compete in the category, but weighed a few grams more on the day of the match on August 7.
In an official statement, the Indian contingent said, “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 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 upsetting news led to suspicions of a conspiracy. “This is some big conspiracy against our wrestlers and India. We can drop so much weight in a short time. She should have been given some time to drop those 100 grams. We have never seen this before for any athlete,” boxer Vijendar Singh said.
According to reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to Indian Olympics Association President PT Usha and asked her to explore options which will help Vinesh’s case.
Reacting to the disqualification, Abhinav Bindra, Indian Olympic gold medalist, wrote, “Completely gutted. Sometimes u dont need a gold medal to be a true champion to people (sic)….”
Wrestler Sakshi Malik wrote, “My heart is nervous and troubled, what Vinesh has done is beyond imagination.This is perhaps the most devastating incident to happen to an Indian athlete in this Olympics. We can't even imagine what she might be going through. If it was possible, I would have given my medal to Vinesh.”
Vinesh became the first Indian woman to march into the 50-kg freestyle event at the Paris Olympics, winning over Cuba's Yusneylys Guzman and Japan's hitherto undefeated Yui Susaki. Vinesh was one of the three Olympians who sat in protest of sexual harassment and systemic bias, along with many young wrestlers, against former BJP MP Brij Bhushan at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi for months before they were forcefully removed and detained by the Delhi police.
Vinesh has so far won several medals and titles, including bronze medals in the 2019 and 2022 World Championships, gold medals in three successive Commonwealth Games editions, bronze in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, and gold in Jakarta four years later besides several medals in the Asian Championships.