Vinesh Phogat was the first Indian wrestler to advance to the finals in the Olympics . The dream was shattered by a meagre 100 gms, as inconsequential as the weight of a deck of playing cards or a pair of socks. Vinesh Phogat was disqualified for being overweight by 100 gms just before competing for the gold medal in the 50kg freestyle wrestling category finals.
She and her team resorted to relentless attempts to lose weight overnight to lose the necessary weight, undergoing extreme weight-cutting techniques like pumping out blood and cutting hair, but only 100 gms derailed all her hopes. This is not the first case for the star wrestler. In the 2016 Rio Olympics, she was disqualified from overweighing in the qualifying event for exceeding the 48 kg limit by 400 gms.
This is very common in sports with weight categories, like wrestling and boxing, where weights as trivial as a packet of coriander or a bar of soap dash the dreams of athletes and an entire nation rooting for them. This requires extreme weight-cutting measures. Mary Kom was overweight by a few kilos in a tournament in Poland for her 48 kg category and overnight managed to shed 2 kilos within 4 hours.
Aman Sehrawat , who bagged a bronze at the Paris Olympics in men's 57kg freestyle wrestling category, shed 4.5 kilos within 10 hours, before his next day’s weigh-in. ALSO READ: How Aman Sehrawat avoided cruel Vinesh Phogat fate to lose 4.
6 kgs in 10 hours to be ready for Olympic bronze play-off Gruelling measures We.