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'How do we even recover from this, who to blame’: Billion heartbreaks after Vinesh Phogat's ouster from Paris Olympics

The news also sparked outrage among fans and athletes, with many questioning the circumstances surrounding her disqualification
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Vinesh Phogat after winning her Women's Freestyle 50kg quarterfinal wrestling match against Ukraine's Oksana Livach at the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France,
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Chandigarh, August 7

Billion hearts broke down as news of Vinesh Phogat disqualification from the women's 50kg event at the Paris Olympics--after she weighed "a few grams over" the permissible limits on Wednesday morning--broke.

But support poured in with many saying that 'she may have been disqualified, but she remains a winner'. The news also sparked outrage among fans and athletes, with many questioning the circumstances surrounding her disqualification.

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One wrote: “Vinesh Phogat didn't sleep whole night after reaching final & was working hard to shed extra 2 kg, but missed mark by 100 gram, is now hospitalized. How do we even recover from this? This is probably the most cruel, shattering, heartbreaking incident in Indian Sports History”

Sources said the wrestler was roughly 100 grams over the permissible limits, which could lead to her disqualification. According to competition rules, Phogat would not be eligible even for a silver medal and the 50 kg will have just gold and bronze medal winners.

Although she made the weight for Tuesday’s bouts, but rules say wrestlers have to stay within their weight category on both days of the competition.

Vinesh on Tuesday became the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the final of an Olympic Games after she defeated Cuba's Yusneylys Guzman 5-0 in the semifinal.

She started her campaign by stunning world No. 1, Japan's four-time World Champion and Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Yui Susaki, who was undefeated in 95 international matches, in her entire career as a wrestler.

Vinesh then advanced to her maiden semifinals after beating Ukraine's Oksana Vasylivna Livach 7-5 in her second bout of the day.

A former World No.1 in 48kg, Vinesh was participating in her third Olympics. She missed out on a medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics because of an injury. She lost to Vanesa Kaladzinskaya in the 53kg quarterfinals in the Tokyo Olympics

Vinesh is also the first Indian woman to have won gold at both the Commonwealth and Asian Games.

 

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