A photograph of a young woman in a tracksuit, with short, unkempt hair, sitting on the floor and looking utterly distraught, went viral on social media on Wednesday. This was not some sleep-deprived junkie lost in some dark corner of the world. This was Vinesh Phogat, India’s World Championship medal-winning wrestler who had made history just 12 hours earlier by becoming the first Indian woman to reach the final of a wrestling event at the Olympics.
Yes, Phogat’s world had turned upside down on Wednesday morning in Paris after she was disqualified for the 50 kg freestyle final for being overweight by just 100 grams. A world-class wrestler in the 53 kg category, Phogat could not find her rhythm in her favorite event after returning from a serious injury. The 29-year-old moved to the 50 kg category, a challenge for any wrestler, early this year to have a shot at qualifying for the Paris Olympics. Proving the doubters wrong, Phogat successfully shifted to the new weight category before putting up some impressive performances to qualify for her third Olympic Games.
But in Paris, no one expected her to last the distance in the first match against Japan’s Yui Susaki, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion who had never lost a bout in her life. Phogat, who famously led a powerful wrestlers’ protest in India last year against the former chief of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is also a powerful political leader, over cases of sexual harassment, pulled off the biggest shock of the Paris Games with a comprehensive win over Susaki. The 2018 Asian Games champion had proudly stated her wish to win an Olympic gold in Paris to silence her detractors following the massive backlash over the wrestlers’ protest against Brij Bhushan.
On Wednesday, she was on track to make history as she built on her stunning victory over Susaki by winning her quarterfinal and semifinal matches to set up a final against Sarah Hildebrandt of the United States. But around 12 hours before her final on Wednesday, Phogat was disqualified for being overweight for the 50 kg category — a blunder of epic proportions from the team of Indian trainers and coaches that robbed her of a chance to win a historic gold medal. Phogat reportedly gained almost two kilos on Tuesday evening after she won her semifinal against Cuba's Yusneylis Guzman Lopez. As per the rules, she needed to lose the extra kilos on the morning of the final. The Indian team management made her go jogging and cycling the whole night, without food and liquid intake, in a desperate attempt to get her below the 50 kg mark. But all of their efforts, including a last-gasp attempt to tilt the balance in her favour by trimming her hair, failed to do the job as she missed the mark by a mere 100 grams.
A distraught Phogat collapsed on the floor as the news of her disqualification sparked a furore in medal-hungry India, a country of 1.4 billion people that has won just three bronze medals until now, all in shooting. A dehydrated Phogat was later given drips by the Indian medical team in Paris as her wrestling future now hangs in the balance. For someone who had suffered a heartbreaking injury at the 2016 Rio Games, an event she entered as a medal prospect, Paris was perhaps her biggest hope of reaching the Olympic podium. Phogat had bounced back from career-threatening injuries in the past as well as a huge backlash from supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party, India’s ruling political party of which Brij Bhushan is a powerful leader, after the protest over alleged sexual attacks on female wrestlers. But overcoming the greatest setback of her life could be a different challenge altogether.
Girish Hemnani, a Dubai-based life coach and energy healer, though, believes Phogat has what it takes to make a stirring comeback. “If I had the chance to speak to Vinesh Phogat now, I would genuinely highlight the incredible emotional resilience, commitment, and perseverance she has demonstrated throughout her journey,” Hemnani told the Khaleej Times on Wednesday. “Her ability to rise above immense challenges—from leading a protest against powerful figures to overcoming career-threatening injuries—reflects her profound inner strength and unwavering dedication.” Phogat, who belongs to a famous family of wrestlers in Haryana, a state in northern India, would need all the support in the immediate aftermath of the Paris heartbreak. “The support of her coaching staff and officials is vital now. They need to provide a compassionate, safe space for her to express her feelings and find her footing again. Constructive feedback should be given privately to foster growth without adding unnecessary stress,” said Hemnani.
But dealing with stress could be the first hurdle as certain elements on social media have already launched toxic attacks on Phogat on Wednesday, alleging that the wrestler even ‘bullied’ India’s wrestling federation to get her into the 50 kg freestyle category for the Olympics. “It’s sad that certain people have resorted to this so quickly,” Shailesh Chaturvedi, a senior Indian journalist who had covered the 2012 Paris Olympics and the 2006 Doha Asian Games, told the Khaleej Times. “Vinesh never made any demands, yes, she did request them to put her in the 50 kg trials because she had just come back from a serious injury. “There would be a lot of people now who would blame her for what happened in Paris. But don’t forget, there is a team of experienced trainers and coaches in the Indian team, was it not their responsibility to do all the needful so she maintained her weight?” Chaturvedi expects a big drama to unfold once Phogat returns home. “We have seen her in those massive protests (against the system) on the streets of Delhi. I am sure she will speak up once she returns to India. People would say a lot of things now, but she is not going to keep quiet,” Chaturvedi said.
On Wednesday, there was also a large number of people showing their support, including Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, for Phogat. But the most remarkable source of support was Jordan Burroughs, an American wrestler who won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Burroughs blasted the IOC (International Olympic Committee) for the rules that led to Phogat’s disqualification and even demanded a silver medal for her. Hemnani says it’s the messages of support from champions like Burroughs that would eventually help Phogat rise over the obstacles once again in her life. “Vinesh will face both support and negativity. My advice to her is to focus on the positive messages and surround herself with people who uplift her,” the Dubai resident said. “Her worth is not defined by online comments but by her incredible journey and the countless lives she has inspired.”
