Throughout Wednesday, reactions have been pouring in for the devastating news of wrestler Vinesh Forgot being disqualified from the Olympics. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reacting to the situation on X, said, quote, wish words could express the sense of despair that I am experiencing, end quote.
Reactions came from the former Olympic medallists of India. Real Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik said, quote, if it was possible, I would have given my medal to Vinesh, end quote. Another reaction from Bajrang Puneya came on Wednesday, saying, quote, the whole country is unable to hold back its tears, end quote.
So what happened next? The Indian Olympic Association has knocked on the doors of Court of Arbitration for Sport CAS to plead the case of Vinesh Phogat. The Indian contingent has demanded that Vinesh be awarded silver medal.
Vinesh Phogat was found to be around 100 grams over the permissible weight, which led to her being disqualified. Meanwhile, Usnelis Guzman Lopez, who Vinesh Phogat beat in semifinal, was asked to compete for gold against Sarah Hildenbrandt.
It has been reported by several media organizations. that a night before the final match or the match for the gold medal, Phogat was reportedly around 2 kilograms overweight. Desperate to compete, she spent the entire night attempting to shed excess weight through rigorous exercise and other methods.
Before the finals, however, she was found to be a few grams over the limit. The stringent weight regulations in wrestling stipulate that athletes must maintain their weight category for both days of the competition as per a news report by the Indian Express.
As a result of this, Phogat missed out on the opportunity to win gold and was held ineligible. for the silver medal.
