Vinesh Phogat’s first photo from polyclinic in Paris after disqualification goes viral

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha met ace wrestler Vinesh Phogat for the first time since the latter’s heartbreaking disqualification ahead of the Paris Olympics women’s 50kg final, the image of which has since gone viral.

Vinesh had won all three of her bouts on Tuesday, ending reigning Olympic champion Yui Susaki’s 82-match winning streak with a 3-2 victory in the pre-quarters before defeating Ukraine’s Oksana Livach and Cuba’s Yusneylys Guzman in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively. In the process, Vinesh became the first Indian woman wrestler to qualify for an Olympic final.

Vinesh however, was in for a massive heartbreak the following morning as she was found to be overweight by the barest of margins.

The 29-year-old grappler was seen skipping immediately after her victory over Guzman on Tuesday, and was reportedly overweight by 2kg on the eve of what would have been the biggest bout of her life, against USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt late on Wednesday

Despite skipping, jogging, cutting her hair and even drawing blood , Vinesh was found overweight by just 100 grams during the weigh-in on Wednesday.

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An image shared by the official X account of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) showed Vinesh with hair shorter than what it was during her bouts on Tuesday.

Usha, who had suffered an Olympic heartbreak herself in the Los Angeles 1984 Games by finishing fourth in the women’s 400m hurdles final, met Vinesh at the polyclinic in the Olympic village where the wrestler was receiving treatment.

Vinesh, who had moved to the 50kg category during the Paris Olympics qualification cycle after competing in the 53kg in the Tokyo 2020 Games, had reportedly gained weight after her meals on Tuesday. Her normal body weight is reportedly in the range of 52-53 kg.

As a result of her disqualification, Hildebrandt now faces Cuba’s Guzman , whom Vinesh had defeated in the semis, for the gold medal.