Vinesh Phogat has retired from wrestling after being disqualified before the final match of Paris Olympics. He was disqualified a few hours before the final match due to being overweight.
Vinesh Phogat wrestles in 50 kg category. But when his weight was measured on Wednesday, it was found to be 100 grams more. According to the rules, any wrestler must weigh the same or less than the category in which he plays. If the weight is even one gram more then it is disqualified.
Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala, Chief Medical Officer of the Indian Olympic team, said that a lot of efforts were made, but the weight did not reduce by 100 grams. He told that Vinesh’s weight had increased by 2 kg before the final match. Even after working hard, Vinesh could not lose 100 grams of weight.
What did you do to lose weight?
Dr. Pardiwala told that Vinesh Phogat had three matches on Tuesday. Therefore, to prevent dehydration, they had to be given some amount of water. Due to this his weight increased more than normal.
The doctor told that after the semi-final match, Vinesh’s weight was 2.7 kg more than the prescribed limit. The coach started the normal weight loss process. Every possible effort was made, which included cutting hair and shortening the clothes. Still could not reach the weight category of 50 kg.
The medical team tried to lose weight overnight. He was made to exercise throughout the night. He did skipping. Did cycling. Also took sauna bath. Even cut the nails. But despite all efforts, the weight remained 100 grams excess.
Dr. Pardiwala said that if a few more hours of time were available, 100 grams of weight could have been reduced.
How difficult is it to lose weight?
Generally no person remains stable. It keeps increasing and decreasing. It depends on eating, exercising and sweating. Therefore, the weight of the athlete is measured before the competition.
According to Olympic rules, the weight of a wrestler is checked before the match. If a bout is fought over two days, weight is taken from the match on both days. The weigh-in process lasts for half an hour on the first day, but only 15 minutes are available on the second day.
Athletes try many methods to lose weight. The most common way is to lose water weight through sweating. For this, athletes exercise vigorously, take sauna bath, wear heavy clothes and do not drink water. Many times, one does not even eat food for a few hours before the weigh-in process.
Indian wrestler Ravi Dahiya had told in an interview in 2021 that the real challenge starts not on the day of the match, but a day before that. He had told, ‘You can’t even sleep. Unable to talk to anyone. Food and water are placed in front of you, but you cannot even touch it. This is a different feeling. Only a wrestler can tell how that day goes.
Ravi Dahiya had told, ‘Sometimes a wrestler may feel dizzy and may fall. Many times you become so tired that you do not realize what is going on around you. You don’t even remember to pick up your jacket because you can’t concentrate. At such times, you feel the need of someone around you who can take care of you.
Also read: This player got ‘silver’ again after 2 hours of being disqualified, can this happen with Vinesh Phogat too?
How dangerous is all this?
There are many dangers in the methods athletes adopt to lose weight for competition. While doing this many times heart attack occurs and sometimes death can also occur.
There is a process of weigh-in in sports like boxing and wrestling. In 2018, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) boxer Yuripai Hall suffered a heart attack while losing weight. It was fortunate that he survived.
Similarly, in 2015, Chinese boxer Yang Jian Bing died. Yang was 21 years old and was losing weight for the championship weigh-in process. During this period he did not even drink water, due to which he became dehydrated and died.
It is estimated that the weight of the body is 5 to 11 kg of water. That’s why athletes stop drinking water to lose weight. We also lose as much water as possible through sweat. But experts believe that this can cause dehydration. Due to this, the brain is also affected and the risk of heatstroke also increases.
So why not ban it?
It is very difficult for athletes to lose weight, but despite that there is no restriction on it. However, One Championship changed the rules after the death of Chinese boxer Yang Jian Bing in 2015. Now players’ weight is measured several times a day. Also, urine test is taken to check dehydration.
Along with this, this rule has also been made that even if the weight exceeds the prescribed limit, the player is not disqualified. However, it also has a limit. The weight of any player should be at least 105% of that of his opponent.
United World Wrestling (UWW), the body that makes rules for wrestling, clearly says that if the weight exceeds the prescribed limit, the player will be disqualified.