Indian athlete Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the Olympics on Wednesday ahead of her gold medal match — sparking calls for the Indian government to file an appeal. The ace wrestler had found herself about 100 grams overweight ahead of her 50 kg final match against Sarah Ann Hildebrandt despite working through the night to shed additional kilos.
“It is unfortunate that Vinesh Phogat, India’s pride, who reached the finals after defeating world champion wrestlers, was disqualified on technical grounds. We have full hope that the Indian Olympic Association will strongly challenge this decision and provide justice to the daughter of the country,” said Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that the Indian Olympic Association had already “lodged a strong protest” with the International Wrestling Federation over the matter. The lawmaker told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also reached out to IOA chief PT Usha and sought “appropriate action” in the matter.
“Vinesh Phogat defeated world champions but has been disqualified due to technical reasons. She went through a lot. From protesting at the footpath for justice to reaching the pinnacle podium of the Olympics. It is extremely distressing…what she must be going through. The government should make all efforts to make an appeal with the International Olympic Committee and provide justice to our champion,” urged Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.
Meanwhile cricketer Sunil Gavaskar dubbed it an extremely ‘unfair’ and ‘unfortunate’ situation and urged officials to register a strong response to the disqualification.
“I do hope that the authorities will take notice of it, take a strong response to this because this is not just the initial round. We’re talking about the world medal round and therefore this cannot and should not be taken lying down by anybody in India whether it’s the Indian Olympic Association or the government of India. We actually must be protesting very, very strongly about this whole thin,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Spartan racing event.
(With inputs from agencies)