Former Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat silenced tens of millions of her critics by defeating the world No. 1 and reigning Olympic champion Yui Susaki on the 2024 Paris Olympics. Vinesh additionally scripted historical past by changing into India’s first girl wrestler to enter the finals of the Olympic Video games. Nonetheless, in a heartbreaking twist of story, Vinesh was disqualified on the morning of her gold medal match for being 100 grams chubby. This not solely put her out of the gold medal match, but in addition denied her the chance to win silver.
Vinesh additionally filed an attraction to the Court docket of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the place she had requested to be awarded joint-silver within the Girls’s50kg occasion.
Nonetheless, earlier this week, her plea was dismissed by the CAS, whereas the small print of their verdict is anticipated to return out later this month.
In a now-deleted Fb publish, Woller Akos, Vinesh’s coach at Paris Olympics, stated he feared that the wrestler “would possibly die” by the top of the five-and-a-half hours of intense weight-cut.
“After the semi-final, 2.7 kg of extra weight was left; we exercised for one hour and twenty minutes, however 1.5 kg nonetheless remained. Later, after 50 minutes of sauna, not a drop of sweat appeared on her. There was no selection left, and from midnight to five:30 within the morning, she labored on completely different cardio machines and wrestling strikes, about three-quarters of an hour at one go, with two-three minutes of relaxation. Then she began once more. She collapsed, however by some means we bought her up, and she or he spent an hour within the sauna. I do not deliberately write dramatic particulars, however I solely keep in mind considering that she would possibly die,” Akos wrote in a publish which he later deleted.
For the unversed, Vinesh was hospitalised on the morning of her remaining bout because of dehydration. Woller additionally make clear what Vinesh informed him whereas they have been getting back from the hospital.
“We had an fascinating dialog that evening, getting back from the hospital. Vinesh Phogat stated, ‘Coach, do not be unhappy since you informed me that if I discover myself in any tough scenario and wish additional power, I ought to suppose that I beat the perfect girl wrestler (Japan’s Yui Susaki) on the planet. I achieved my aim, I proved that I’m the most effective on the planet. We now have proved that the gameplans work. Medals, podiums are simply objects. Efficiency can’t be taken away’,” he added.
“Vinesh had pleaded with Sakshi and Bajrang to not put their hard-earned Olympic medals within the river. She begged them to maintain these as a result of they have been particular. However they defined to her that the journey was vital and their efficiency was not outlined by medals. We’ll nonetheless be pleased with the truth that our skilled programme may result in beating the perfect girl wrestler on the planet and take an Indian girl wrestler to the Olympic remaining for the primary time in historical past,” Akos signed off.
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