IOA head PT Usha chastised former wrestler Vinesh Phogat for blaming the association for her disqualification from the Paris Olympics, stating that “the wrestler’s team is accountable, not the IOA”. Vinesh, who entered politics shortly after retiring after being disqualified from the Olympics, won her first political contest on Tuesday, winning the Julana seat in the Haryana Assembly elections. She defeated her BJP competitor, experienced pilot Yogesh Bairagi, with 65,080 votes. Following Vinesh’s triumph, Usha discussed the wrestler’s criticism of the IOA for their part in her disqualification from the Paris Olympics.
“She was a sports person. She should have the traits of a sportsperson; I’m not saying politicians are terrible, but she went to the Paris Olympics for sports, and we all wanted gold from her. After meeting her, we went to the president of the World Wrestling Federation to protest. They responded, “Rules are rules,” and everything devolved into pandemonium.
It is fresh to us, weighing only 100 grams, but not to them. This has occurred before, so she should know what to do and how to handle it. Although her staff is aware of everything, the incident occurred.
Vinesh was disqualified from the 50kg women’s freestyle final due to being 100 gm overweight during the second weigh-in on the morning of the summit showdown. However, she disputed the ruling in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but nothing came back in her favor.
Meanwhile, she declared her retirement from the sport after being disqualified for the final, putting an end to her ambitions of being the first female Indian wrestler to win silver or gold at the Olympics.