India’s Vinesh Phogat faced a harsh setback on Wednesday, August 7, when she was disqualified from the 50kg freestyle wrestling event at the Paris Olympics.
Initially poised to compete for the gold medal against the United States’ Sarah Hildebrandt, Vinesh will now leave Paris without a medal. Reports suggest that she might have secured a silver medal had she made the unusual choice to withdraw from the gold medal match.
Could Vinesh Phogat Have Bagged The Silver Medal If She Had Withdrawn?
Despite India’s disappointment over the lost medal, the United World Wrestling (UWW) regulations were clear: Vinesh was ineligible for any medal.
Article 56 of the UWW rules states, “If a wrestler gets injured or has a disease that happens after the first day of competition and out of competition, the concerned athlete will have to attend the second weigh-in otherwise he/she will be eliminated from the competition and ranked last, without rank.”
This rule mandated Vinesh to attend the second weigh-in; failure to do so would have led to her disqualification regardless.
What’s The Next Step?
Following these developments, Hildebrandt will now compete against Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez for the gold, with the loser receiving the silver.
Mongolia’s Dolgorjavyn Otgonjargal will claim the bronze medal, as she remains third after Guzman Lopez advanced to the final. Wrestlers defeated by the eventual gold medal winner will participate in the repechage round for another bronze medal opportunity.
The 29-year-old Vinesh was eligible for Tuesday’s bouts, which implies that had the 50kg freestyle wrestling final occurred on the same day, she might have secured a medal.
However, since the matches spanned multiple days, wrestlers were required to weigh in again, leading to Vinesh’s unfortunate disqualification. Interestingly, in previous Olympics, wrestling matches were held on a single day, meaning Vinesh would have at least won a silver medal in those editions.
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