After Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat's heartbreaking disqualification from the 50 kg freestyle women's wrestling category at the 2024 Paris Olympics, social media users shared several posts surrounding the circumstances of her disqualification.
What did they say?: Some social media users claimed that Phogat, who was disqualified for being overweight in her category, was overweight by 2.1 kilograms in the morning of 7 August.
X users Rishi Bagree and Ashutosh Dubey also shared this claim.
(Archives of more users sharing this claim can be seen here and here.)
Is it true?: No, Phogat weighed in at slightly over 50 kgs, not 52.1 kgs.
An official statement by the Indian Olympics Association (IOA) mentions that the wrestler "weighed in a few grams over 50kg," leading to her disqualification.
How did we find out the truth?: Using Google search with a filter for results from the Olympics' website ("vinesh phogat site:olympics.com"), we came across official communication related to Phogat's disqualification.
An article titled "Why Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from Paris 2024 Olympics wrestling" mentioned that wrestlers are first weighed on their "first competition day" and those who qualify for finals and repechage — competitions to determine the third and subsequent positions — are weighed in again on the second day.
It clearly said that Phogat was "eligible for competition on the opening day but weighed just over 50kg on Thursday morning."
It also carried a statement by the Indian Olympics Association (IOA), which mentioned that despite best efforts, Phogat "weighed in a few grams over 50kg this morning."
The IOA's full statement was also shared on Team India's verified X account, and can be read here.
Another article on the Olympics' website, which carried an explanation for Vinesh Phogat's disqualification.
It contained a detailed statement by Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, the chief medical officer of the IOA.
Here, Pardiwala explained that wrestlers usually compete in weight categories lower than their actual weight, which gives them a natural advantage over "less stronger opponents."
Since Phogat had three bouts of wrestling, she was given "small amounts of water" to prevent dehydration, which caused her post-participation weight to increase. Her coach then began normal weight-cutting processes, which he had always employed with the wrestler
"However, Vinesh was found to be 100 grams over her 50kg weight category, and hence she was disqualified," Dr Pardiwala's statement read, where he added that despite "drastic measures" like cutting off her hair, "she was not below her allowed weight of 50 kg."
Dr Pardiwala's statement can be heard in this video here.
Conclusion: Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the 2024 Paris Olympics because she had exceeded her weight category by around 100 grams, and not 2.1 kgs as claimed.
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