Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the women’s 50kg freestyle wrestling final at the 2024 Paris Olympics after being found overweight. Despite becoming the first Indian woman to reach an Olympic wrestling final, Vinesh was 150 grams over the permissible weight limit on the morning of the final.
Efforts by Vinesh and her team, including extreme measures like cutting her hair, failed to bring her weight down. According to United World Wrestling rules, any athlete who fails the weigh-in is disqualified from the competition. As a result, Vinesh will not win a medal, and the gold will go to American wrestler Sarah Hildebrand, with two bronze medals to be decided in the repechage rounds.
The Indian Olympic Association expressed regret over the situation and requested privacy for Vinesh during this time.
