Residents of Vinesh’s native village still in disbelief over her disqualification from Paris Olympics

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, August 8

Taken aback by the shocking disqualification of wrestling icon Vinesh Phogat, residents of Balali village in Charkhi Dadri have demanded a high-level investigation into the matter.

The 29-year-old player was disqualified from the Paris Olympics on Wednesday for being overweight ahead of her final bout for the gold medal in women’s 50 kg category.

The villagers are still unable to believe that the iconic wrestler will return home from Paris without a medal despite becoming the first Indian woman to enter the final bout of the Olympics. Vinesh’s announcement for retirement has also come as a setback for them.

A day after her disqualification, dejected Vinesh announced her retirement from wrestling through a social media post. “Mother wrestling won against me, I lost. Sorry, your dreams and my courage are shattered. I don’t have any more strength now,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Manoj, a fellow villager, said there seemed to be a conspiracy behind his disqualification. “She had fought three bouts in a row under the prescribed weight, then how can she gain weight after some hours? No one in the village is ready to believe the theory of the Olympic authorities, so everyone wants a high-level investigation into the matter to ascertain the veracity behind this shocking incident,” he added.

Satyawan, another resident, said a sense of despair and sorrow still prevailed in the village. After her disqualification from the Olympics, Vinesh’s retirement from wrestling was not less than a jolt for the villagers as they had started expecting good performance from her in the next Olympics, he added.

Surendra Sangwan, a neighbour of Vinesh’s uncle Mahavir Phogat, said more than 50 villagers had watched Vinesh’s bouts together in the village on Tuesday night and everyone was excited on finding her reach the finals.

“Before returning home on Tuesday midnight, everyone had planned to watch the live telecast of Vinesh’s gold medal bout together again on Wednesday, but destiny had another plan. Everyone in the village is shocked by her disqualification and retirement from wrestling. How and why did it happen? Is there any conspiracy behind this?” he asked.

Bhateri Devi said Vinesh had toiled hard to reach the finals of Paris Olympic and all were expecting a gold medal for her. “We have no words to express our pain,” she added.

Seems to be a conspiracy

There seems to be conspiracy behind it. She had fought three bouts in a row under the prescribed weight, then how can she gain weight after some hours? No one in the village is ready to believe the theory of the Olympic authorities, so everyone wants a high-level investigation into the matter to ascertain the veracity behind this shocking incident. — Manoj, resident of Balali village