Paris Olympics: Opaque rules forced Vinesh Phogat to compete in a category she struggled to cut weight for

Two halls at the National Institute of Sport in Patiala are abuzz, because Vinesh Phogat has done something audacious. The multiple-time Worlds medallist chooses to weigh in for both the 50 kg and 53 kg categories. She wins the 50 kg trials and finishes in the top four of the 53 kg trials.

Phogat competed in two categories as she had no clarity on which category she could be part of due to the opaqueness of rules, and this way, her participation at the Olympics remained in her hands.

That was 12 March, 2024.

Just under five months later, that punt by Phogat came extraordinarily close to delivering her a silver or gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics – a dream that came down to the last 100 grams.

Phogat competed in the 48 kg category at her maiden Olympic appearance at the 2016 Rio Games. She won the Asian Games gold medal in the 50 kg weight class but just over a year later, won a bronze in the 53 kg category at the 2019 World Championships. The reason for the switch was the weight cut she was struggling with.

To avoid that struggle, Phogat chose to become a 53 kg wrestler after the Asian Games, and at one point after the Tokyo Games, was also wrestling in the 55 kg category. She won a bronze at the 2022 World Championships in 53 kg but after spearheading the protests against ex-WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, her return was curtailed by a knee ligament injury.

Phogat chose to become a 53 kg wrestler after the Asian Games, and at one point after the Tokyo Games, was also wrestling in the 55 kg category. (PTI)

During that time, Antim Panghal won a bronze at the 2023 World Championships, thus getting India a Paris Olympics quota in the 53 kg category. Former Wrestling Federation of India rules gave the quota winner the go-ahead for the Olympics, and so Phogat was in a fix, because the ad-hoc committee was running wrestling in India at the time and they had promised her that there would be a trial for the 53 kg category. But that decision might have been taken away from their hands as the WFI was set to return to power after conducting their election and selecting Sanjay Singh as its new president.

And thus when March 12 came, Phogat believed that a WFI return wouldn’t necessarily guarantee her a shot at the Olympics in the 53 kg category. Which meant she either had to switch to the 50 kg category, or the 57 kg. She chose 50 – a weight class she had last been part of in 2018.

“I had no clarity about the 53kg quota situation, whether there would be trials or not. Usually, the quota is won by the country but they hadn’t held trials before. They (ad hoc committee) said that it wouldn’t be the case this time. I had no option but to do this because I have to participate in the Olympics,” the 29-year-old had said then, confirming that the decision to take part in the 50 kg category was to ensure that her Paris dreams remained in her own hands.

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Phogat’s walk-around weight is usually around 55-56 kgs. Cutting down to 50 on consecutive days takes its toll. That’s why United World Wrestling president Nenad Lalovic said that it wasn’t a matter of one kilo, rather the large amount she had to cut in the first place to reach that figure of ‘100 grams’ that caused the issue.

American wrestling legend Jordan Burroughs proposed some immediate rule changes on social media to avoid a repeat of the Phogat-like situation. “1.) 1kg second Day Weight Allowance, 2.) Weigh-ins pushed from 8:30am to 10:30am, 3.) Forfeit will occur in future finals if the opposing finalist misses weight, 4.) After a semifinal victory, both finalists’ medals are secured even if weight is missed on Day 2. Gold can only be won by a wrestler who makes weight on the second day, 5.) Give Vinesh the Silver medal.

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