Vinesh Phogat, one of the famous wrestlers, could not make it to the finals of the Women's 50 category in Women's Wrestling in the Paris Olympics 2024 by being overweight by 100 grams during the weigh-ins. It not only left her dreams scattered, but the entire nation also remained heartbroken, and it also sparked a controversy.
Well, the entire nation can only feel the pain that Vinesh is feeling right now, as she was so close to making the nation proud. Well, the entire nation is siding with Vinesh, and now, Indian shuttler, Saina Nehwal commented on this matter and stated that Vinesh should also take the blame for whatever has happened.
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In an interview with NDTV, Saina said that as an athlete, it's understandable that Vinesh must be feeling the pain right now. She also added that Vinesh is a fighter, and she will definitely bounce back stronger. Talking more about this, Saina raised a question about how such a thing could even happen at such a level. She also mentioned that everyone from Vinesh's team must be feeling really bad, and she is feeling the same. Saina can be quoted as saying:
"Generally, such mistakes don't happen to any athlete at this level. How this happened is a question mark. Because she has a big team—she has so many coaches, physios, and trainers—they all must be feeling bad. I am not sure about the rules and regulations of wrestling. As an athlete, I am feeling bad."
In the concluding segment of the interview, Saina attacked Vinesh and mentioned that it was not the latter's first Olympics and that she was an experienced athlete. Thus, she should know the rules and notice if there's any kind of mistake. Saina remarked that Vinesh should also take the blame for whatever has happened, as she is a big player, and such a mistake at such a big stage has not happened before. In Saina's words:
"It is not like she is playing her first Olympics, it's her third Olympics. As an athlete, she must know the rules. If there has been a mistake, I don't know how it happened. At such a big stage, I have not heard any such thing about any other wrestler, that they have been disqualified due to being overweight. She is an experienced athlete. Somewhere, there has been a mistake on Vinesh's part, too. She should take the blame too."
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Saina mentioned that an athlete should keep in check his/her weight before such an important match, so how this happened could only be replied to by Vinesh and her trainer. Saina said:
"Before such a big match, such a mistake is not right. She is an Asian Games champion and a Commonwealth Games champion. Because ahead of such a big match, any player will be alert that the weight should be within permissible limits. How such a mistake happened, only she or her coach can answer."
It was reported that Vinesh Phogat was hospitalised soon after she was disqualified, and it was due to dehydration. Well, for those who don't know, it's been reported that during the first round, Vinesh weighed 49.90 kg. But by the semi-final round on the same day, she weighed 2 kg more, which was 52.7 kg.
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If the reports are to be believed, the wrestler's support staff and the coaches had worked hard to cut her weight out and went out of food. As per the source, Vinesh starved for 12 hours and worked hard. According to reports, drastic measures were also undertaken, such as cutting her hair and drawing her blood before the weigh-ins, but it couldn't bring the desired result in the end.
What do you think about Saina's remarks?
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