GUWAHATI: A dejected and heartbroken Vinesh Phogat admitted defeat to “Ma Kusti” as she announced her retirement from wrestling on Thursday, August 8, a day after being disqualified from the final at the Paris Olympics 2024 for being overweight by a mere 100 grams.
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Taking to X she said in Hindi , "Ma Kusti (Mother, wrestling) won against me, I lost. Forgive me, your dream and my courage has been broken. I don't have any more strength now."
Vinesh has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), asking for a joint silver medal for the event. The decision will be announced today.
Post her disqualification, Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who had lost to Phogat in the semifinals, replaced her in the final against Hildebrandt, but lost to win the silver.
The 29-year-old wrestler, who became the first Indian female to reach an Olympic final , was one bout away from a possible historic gold after putting up stunning performances on the way to the final. However, she was disqualified after the mandatory morning weigh-in on Tuesday showed her being overweight by 100 grams.
She had to be taken to a polyclinic at the Games village owing to severe dehydration caused by her desperate measures to lose weight , which included going hungry, avoiding fluids and staying up all night to sweat it out to reduce excess weight, but nothing worked.
The 29-year-old wrestler from Haryana is a three-time Olympian, having contested in three different weight categories in all three Games. While in the Rio Olympics in 2016, she contested in the 48 kg category, in the Tokyo Games, Vinesh contested in the 53 kg.
She has won three gold medals in three Commonwealth Games, in 2014, 2018 and 2022, in three different weight categories. Vinesh also became the first Indian woman wrestler to win a Gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games in 2018. She has also won two bronze medals at the World Wrestling Championships in 2019 and 2022, respectively.
CONSPIRACY THEORY
As the news of Vinesh’s disqualification emerged, a section of social media erupted with conspiracy theories, linking it to her involvement in protests against BJP leader and former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan.
Last year, Vinesh was the face of protests in the national capital against Brij Bhushan after several wrestlers accused him of sexual harassment and intimidation.
Earlier in the day, boxer and Olympic medallist Vijender Singh told the media that Vinesh was a victim of a "conspiracy". He said in such events, weight control was the first on the priority list.
"It's a huge conspiracy against India and Indian wrestlers. Maybe some people couldn't digest the happiness. We can reduce five to six kg in one night, so what’s the problem with 100 grams? I feel that someone had some problems and so the step to disqualify was taken," he said.