India wrestler Vinesh Phogat. (FILE photo)
During the Paris Olympics 2024, Indian athlete Vinesh Phogat was assured a medal in the 50 Kg category in wrestling. However, on the day of the final, the 30-year-old was found to be 100 grams overweight and was disqualified from the competition denying her of a medal. Speaking to The Indian Express when asked if United World Wrestling (UWW) should have allowance of 1 Kg for the second day she would reply “Definitely”.
“I think there is no need to even check the weight again of those who have reached the final. Or they should delay the weigh-in a bit on the second day so it gives more time. There needs to be an allowance, especially for women since their body structure is different from men,” Phogat said.
According to UWW Olympics weigh-in rules, wrestlers have to weigh in on the morning of their competition. But before the weigh-in on Day 1, a wrestler is supposed to appear at a medical examination with their licence and accreditation, while wearing their singlet.
The weigh-in period is 30 minutes on Day 1 and a wrestler can try weighing themselves multiple times. On Day 2, if applicable, a wrestler has 15 minutes to make the weight and this too is done on the morning of the competition.
“Women can’t lose more than 3 kg in a day when you are at peak fitness because your fat percent is already very low. Men wrestlers can but we cannot because our body retains water. All women athletes are concerned about the weight cut on the second day. At the Games Village, there were at least 50 athletes, from different sports, who hugged me and said that this is wrong,” Phogat said.
The international governing body’s president, Nenad Lalovic, insisted they won’t revise the rules based on this one incident. He added the playing regulations were formed to ensure wrestlers ‘compete in their natural weight category’ rather than drastically reducing weight, which can ‘impact health’ at the time.
