'Wrestling won, I lost…': Vinesh announces retirement after Olympic shock
Wrestling champion, Vinesh Phogat, declared her retirement from the sport, a day after a disqualification at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 29-year-old athlete was disqualified for being 100gm overweight during Wednesday's morning weigh-in, hours before her gold medal bout in the women's 50kg freestyle wrestling event. To recall, Phogat had moved down to the 50kg weight class for these games from her usual category of 53kg.
What happened after Phogat's disqualification
Despite her best efforts, including starving herself and spending hours in a sauna, Phogat fell short of the weight requirement by 100gm. This led to her disqualification and subsequent replacement by Cuba's Yusneylys Guzman Lopez in the final match against United States's Sarah Hildebrandt. Meanwhile, Phogat was taken to a polyclinic at the Games village due to severe dehydration caused by her desperate measures to make the weight.
Phogat appeals for joint-silver medal
According to reports, Phogat lodged a protest at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), requesting a joint-silver medal. The CAS has set up an ad-hoc division in Paris to resolve any disputes arising during the Olympic Games or during a period of 10 days preceding the Opening Ceremony, reports said. The matter is expected to be taken up on Thursday.
'My courage is broken...': Phogat on X
In a social media post announcing her retirement, she wrote: "Wrestling won the match against me, I lost... my courage is all broken, I don't have any more strength now. Goodbye Wrestling 2001-2024. I will forever be in your debt." On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others from the sporting fraternity had expressed their support for Phogat on social media, encouraging her to focus on future games.
Read: Phogat's post here
UWW chief's statement on Phogat's disqualification
Separately, the sport's international governing body, United World Wrestling (UWW), has stated that the current weigh-in rule that led to Phogat's disqualification cannot be changed as of now. UWW chief Nenad Lalovic said, "I have nothing against that [India's appeal] but I know the outcome. I don't see anything that can be done. It is the competition's rules and I really don't think it is possible [to overturn the decision]."
