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India’s Chief Medical Officer at Paris Olympics 2024, Dinshaw Pardiwala opened up on Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification and said that despite all the possible efforts, Phogat failed to meet the weight limit by a mere 100 grams. Notably, in the early hours of August 7 (Wednesday), Phogat was declared disqualified from her gold medal match for failing to meet the weight requirement. Dr. Pardiwala along with IOA President P.T. Usha released a video statement and opened up on all the measures taken by Phogat to cut her weight.
Dr. Pardiwala said, “Vinesh's nutritionist said that the usual amount that she takes is 1.5 kg over the day, which gives her enough energy for the bouts. Sometimes, there's a factor of rebound weight gain following competition. Vinesh had three bouts, and hence, to prevent dehydration, some amount of water had to be given. We found that (her) post-participation weight was increased more than normal.”
He added, “We had tried all possible drastic measures throughout the night, including cutting off her hair, shortening her clothes.” In the same video, Usha reacted to the disqualification, while confirming that IOA has registered an appeal with the United World Wrestling (UWW). She said, “The Wrestling Federation Of India has filed an appeal to UWW to consider the decision to disqualify Vinesh and it is following this up in the strongest possible manner. I am aware of the relentless effort made by Vinesh's medical team throughout the night so that she could meet the competition requirements.”
On the other hand, Indian Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya shed light on all the necessary proceedings that the government took to help Phogat. In the Lok Sabha, Mandaviya that the Indian Olympic Association has “lodged a strong protest” with the Interational Wrestling Federation. He said that the government has helped Phogat by providing her the best support group, personal staff as her needs and all possible training facilities.
