India TV Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma.
A heart breaking news came from Paris. The whole country was praying that Vinesh Phogat would bring India the first Olympic gold medal in wrestling but this dream was shattered on Wednesday morning. Vinesh was disqualified and thrown out of the Olympics due to being 100 grams overweight. Now she will not get any medal, nor any ranking, the rules are strict, cruel, but rules are rules, however the efforts of the Indian Olympic Association are continuing. Actually, on Tuesday night Vinesh won a tremendous victory in the semi-finals, so the hopes of the whole country had increased further. Everyone was sure that India’s daughter would bring gold for India. Even if she lost, silver was certain. This would have been the first time in the history of Indian women’s wrestling but early in the morning all the hopes were dashed. Vinesh was playing in the 50 kg category and her weight was 100 grams more than 50 kg. Now the whole country is in shock. Preparations were going on to welcome the champion at Vinesh’s house. Now there is an atmosphere of grief. On Thursday morning Vinesh announced her retirement from wrestling on Christmas Day. Vinesh wrote – “Maa, wrestling won over me, I lost. Sorry, your dream, my courage, all are broken. I don’t have more strength than this now. Goodbye wrestling 2001-2024. I will always be indebted to all of you. Sorry”. As soon as the news of Vinesh being disqualified came on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Indian Olympic Association President P.T. Usha, who was in Paris, and said that whatever possible should be done for Vinesh, wherever an appeal is needed, it should be done immediately. Prime Minister Modi also encouraged Vinesh, saying that she is “the champion of champions. There is no need to be disappointed. The whole country is proud of you”. Leaders of all parties, people associated with sports, common people of the country encouraged Vinesh. But the question still remains in everyone’s mind that how did Vinesh’s weight increase suddenly. What happened that Vinesh Phogat, who was fit in all the matches till now and her weight was correct according to the category, how did it increase in just a few hours.
The answer to this was given by Chief Medical Officer Dinshaw Pardiwala, who was present with the Indian team in Paris. Doctor Pardiwala revealed that last night Vinesh Phogat’s weight was not 100 or 200 grams, but 2 kg 700 grams more, that is, Vinesh’s weight had increased to 52 kg 700 grams instead of 50 kg. Vinesh’s weight increased by more than 2.5 kg in 14 hours. After this, the team of doctors and physios kept trying to reduce Vinesh Phogat’s weight throughout the night. She was successful in reducing 2 kg 600 grams, but the weight was still 100 grams more. Dinshaw Pardiwala is the Director of Arthroscopy and Shoulder Service at Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai and has worked with many big players. Doctor Pardiwala told that as soon as it was known last night that Vinesh was overweight and she could be disqualified from the Olympics due to being overweight, the doctors worked hard all night. Since the weight of the players participating in the match is taken at 7:15 am and then at 7:30 am on the same day of the match, Vinesh won the semi-final on Tuesday at around 10:45 pm Indian time. At that time it was 7:15 pm in Paris. After the semi-final, the physio weighed Vinesh, her weight was 2:75 kg more. The team of doctors had a total of twelve hours to reduce the weight. Vinesh exercised all night, sweated all night, worked so hard that if she had exerted more force after that, she could have fainted and fallen, but in twelve hours Vinesh lost two kilos and six hundred grams of weight. But even then the weight turned out to be a hundred grams more than fifty kilos and all hopes were dashed. All the hard work went in vain.
Dr. Pardiwala was asked how can someone’s weight increase by more than 2.5 kg in 14 hours. In response to this, Dr. Pardiwala said that what actually happens is that most wrestlers in the world play in a category lower than their actual weight so that their chances of winning are higher. This is a normal thing. The nutritionist and support staff who work with every athlete know how to control the weight before the match and bring it within the prescribed limit. For this, the diet is also the same. Less water is given. Vinesh used to play in the 53 kg category earlier, but this time before the Olympics, Anant Panghal was selected in the 53 kg category. Therefore, Vinesh opted for the 50 kg category in February this year, reduced her weight in just 5 months. Worked hard for this. Generally, players keep their weight less by one to one and a half kg according to their category. Before the match, one does not take any solid diet, nor does one drink much water, so that the weight remains under control. Usually one has to play only one match in a day. Therefore, after the match, wrestlers take a good diet so that both their energy level and weight are maintained. But something went wrong with Vinesh on Tuesday. She had to play three matches in a single day. All three matches were difficult. The match was against the world champion and the defending Olympic champion. Vinesh won all three matches. This ensured her medal. There was an atmosphere of happiness in the whole country, but after all three matches, Vinesh’s energy level went down a lot, she became badly dehydrated. Therefore, immediately after the matches, the doctors allowed her to drink energy drinks and a lot of water. If this was not done, Vinesh could have fainted.
The doctors had guessed that water and energy drinks would affect Vinesh’s weight because it happens according to the body structure. The doctors had guessed that this would increase Vinesh’s weight by one and a half kilos, but Vinesh’s weight increased by two kilos seven hundred grams. This caused all the trouble. After this, Vinesh sweated all night without eating or drinking water, jumped rope, cycled, did other types of exercises, Vinesh was kept in steam and sauna, her hair was cut, her dress was also shortened. But even after trying all kinds of measures for twelve hours continuously, our team was able to reduce Vinesh’s weight by two kilos six hundred grams, the weight was measured at seven-thirty in the morning, and Vinesh’s weight was found to be one hundred grams more than fifty kilos. According to the rules, Vinesh was disqualified from the Olympics. Vinesh Phogat is from Haryana. Assembly elections are to be held in Haryana after three months. Therefore, the Congress linked Vinesh’s disqualification to the honor of Haryana’s daughter. From Bhupendra Singh Hooda, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Kumari Selja to Deepender Hooda, everyone spoke on this issue. Deepender Hooda said that the government’s entire focus is on telling how much it spent on Vinesh, whereas the government should have told what the government and the Olympic Association did to get justice for Vinesh after she was disqualified. On behalf of the Aam Aadmi Party, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann reached Vinesh Phogat’s house in Charkhi Dadri, Haryana. Bhagwant Mann spoke to Vinesh’s father and uncle. First, he blamed Vinesh’s coach and support staff for this mess and then started criticizing Prime Minister Modi.
The leaders of the opposition parties who are accusing the government of conspiracy should definitely listen to Vinesh’s uncle and guru Mahavir Phogat. Mahavir Phogat said that it was the job of her doctor and support staff to keep Vinesh’s weight under control. They did not do their job properly but as far as Vinesh being disqualified is concerned, the rules of the Vishwa Wrestling Federation are equal for everyone. Mahavir Phogat said that he has not lost courage, Vinesh will prepare again and will bring a medal in the 2028 Olympics. It is true that Vinesh is a champion wrestler. By winning three matches in a single day, she showed how big a player she is. When people saw Vinesh’s courage, Vinesh’s passion and Vinesh’s wrestling, everyone believed that gold was sure to come. Even if Vinesh lost, she was bound to get silver. In the history of Indian wrestling, no female wrestler has ever done such a feat before. And when this faith was broken, the dream shattered, it was sad. Looking at the reports, it is also clear that Vinesh tried every way to lose weight, worked out all night, cut her hair, even shortened her clothes, but 100 grams outweighed the medal. This is unfortunate.
The pain of this will hurt the heart for a long time, but why so many things were said about Vinesh, why so many questions were raised, why so many rumours were spread, the reason for this is neither the issue of disqualification nor the frustration of losing the medal. The reason for this is the attempt to exploit the hurt feelings of the people associated with Vinesh. It is no secret that Vinesh had courageously protested against the atrocities on girls in wrestling. She raised her voice against the excesses of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. During this protest, Vinesh was also dragged on the road. I had strongly condemned it at that time also. I had given a piece of my mind to Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. He was a BJP MP. Therefore, the opposition parties got a good opportunity to question the government regarding Brij Bhushan’s arrogance and misbehavior. They used it. There was nothing wrong in it. It was right to raise voice in favor of wrestlers at that time, but today it is not fair to call Vinesh’s disqualification a conspiracy. Questions must be asked from Vinesh’s support staff. Coach, physio, doctor should explain why they were not able to manage Vinesh’s weight. Olympic committee should be asked why Vinesh was made to play 3 matches in a single day. But it would be better if this matter is kept limited to sports. There is no need to bring politics into this. (Rajat Sharma)
Watch: ‘Aaj Ki Baat, Rajat Sharma Ke Saath’ full episode of 07 August, 2024
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