Paris Olympics: Vinesh Phogat's night-long race to cut weight; doctors explain

Vinesh Phogat of team India pictured before the wrestling match with Cuba's Yusneylis Guzman Lopez at the Olympic Games 2024 on August 6 in Paris. Image: David Ramos/Getty Images

All of Tuesday she was making headlines in Japan. On Wednesday morning, the American press was writing about her. In India there was shock, heartbreak and then speculation. The weighing scale had pulled off what no other wrestler at the Olympics had managed—defeat Vinesh Phogat. She was overweight by 100 grams at the time of the weigh-in on Wednesday morning, confirmed Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, the chief medical officer of the Indian contingent in Paris, which led to her being disqualified. Phogat, who normally weighs around 56kg and competes in the 53kg category, was forced to compete in the 50kg weight class at the Paris Olympics.  
 
Indian fans in Paris, who had been scouring the official Paris 2024 resale site to buy tickets for the final and looking for places to catch the final on a big screen somewhere, were devastated by Phogat’s disqualification. “The weight of an apple,” said one fan who was at India House’s fan zone in Paris. Amitabh Dahiya, who came to the City of Lights earlier this week from Gurugram especially for the Olympics, was sitting in front of the big screen showing live wrestling action with an India flag draped around his shoulders. His head hanging and dejection clear on his face. “I come from a village near Sonipat where most of India’s wrestlers come from. I have seen wrestlers and wrestling all my life. This is heartbreaking especially after all the things she went through, missing out like this is just sad,” said Dahiya, who was shocked to see the news when he woke up at 9am.
 

Phogat had made the cut during Tuesday’s weigh-in and had gone on to put on a tactical and technical masterclass as she decimated Japan’s Yui Susaki (first round), Ukraine’s Oksana Livach (quarter-final), and Cuba’s Yusneylys Guzman (semi-final) on the same day on her way to Wednesday evening’s final with the USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt.
 
As per competition rules, Vinesh had to undergo a second weigh-in on Wednesday morning. According to reports, she was 2kg overweight after the end of Tuesday’s bouts and she had jogged and cycled all through the night in order to shed the weight she had gained through the day. They cut her hair, shortened her clothes and tried everything they could to help Vinesh beat the scale. 

Vinesh Phogat reacts during the women's freestyle wrestling match with Japan's Yui Susaki at the Olympic Games 2024. Image: Sarah Stier/Getty Images

Weight fluctuations within a day is a normal phenomenon and it happens to everyone. “A person's body weight can fluctuate by 0.5-2.3 kg in a single day due to several factors. These daily fluctuations are normal and usually reflect temporary changes in fluid and food content rather than actual changes in body fat or muscle mass,” says Vaibhav Daga, head of sports science and rehabilitation, and a consultant for sports medicine, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai. Daga says weight fluctuations are influenced by the body’s water retention, glycogen stores, hormonal changes (particularly in women can lead to water retention), food intake, bowel movement and physical activity. “Exercise can lead to temporary water loss through sweat. Eating or digesting food adds weight too. The contents of the gastrointestinal tract depending on how the bowel moves and how the process of digestion occurs can influence body weight,” adds Daga.

Also read: Paris Olympics: Will the Indian Men's Hockey team add to the medals tally?
 
Apart from the disappointment, there was also anger among Indian fans because of plenty of speculation regarding mismanagement by nutritionists and other conspiracy theories. Pratik Ghosh, a Paris resident, says, “My daughter is big time into sports and we spoke as soon as she read the news. We think this was a bad job on the part of the nutritionist.”
 
Other theories floating around are linked to the very public tussle between Phogat and then Wrestling Federation of India chief, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Phogat had openly taken on Singh last year over charges of sexual abuse and intimidation, and had protested and slept on the pavement for 40 days, which ended with Singh’s resignation as the chief of the wrestling federation.
 
To make clear what Phogat ate and drank and why she competed in a lower weight category, Dr Pardiwala, who had operated on Phogat when she suffered an ACL injury, issued a video statement. “Calculated weight cuts are done to make the category weight. It involves sweating, achieved with sauna and exercise. We tried everything, cutting hair, shortening her clothes,” he said.
 
On Tuesday, Vinesh had consumed just 1.5 kg of food and liquids which was necessary to perform the way she did in the three bouts. She did consume some water to prevent dehydration and the medical team initiated the normal weight cut procedure. Yet, despite all the efforts, Phogat was overweight by 100 grams.
     
There are also reports floating around of Phogat being hospitalised. She was indeed taken to the Olympic polyclinic but only to administer IV fluids and conduct blood tests to ensure she was doing fine.
 
In her heart she might not be doing so good, but her battle-hardened body and spirit are doing fine.