Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification: Has this happened before in Olympic Games?

Paris Olympics 2024 wrestling: India was elated after Vinesh Phogat scripted history on Tuesday by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the final of an Olympic Games. 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. 

However, her disqualification from the women’s 50kg event at the Paris Olympics after being weighed "few grams over" the permissible limits caused a major heartbreak for everyone. She tried her best to lose weight ahead of the bout. She did not sleep all through the night and yet she weighed in a few grams over 50kg this morning. 

The news of her disqualification from the women’s 50kg event sparked strong reactions from sportspersons to celebrities, from netizens to the politicians, with many calling it an unjust decision by the game authorities. However, the Indian grappler is not the first to get disappointed over the weight rule. 

🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨 : Vinesh PHOGAT 🇮🇳, from NOC of India in 50kg, failed the weigh-in on day two of her competition which has forced United World Wrestling to promote Yusneylis GUZMAN LOPEZ 🇨🇺 to the final of 50kg at the Paris Olympics.

She will take on Sarah HILDEBRANDT 🇺🇸 in… pic.twitter.com/dgpmXKtpao

— United World Wrestling (@wrestling) August 7, 2024

A similar incident happened in 2021 when American wrestler J’den Cox failed to make weight for the US Olympic Wrestling Trials. Cox was a two-time reigning world champion at the non-Olympic weight of 92 kilograms. He decided to compete in the 97 kg category in the Tokyo Olympics 2021. However, he was declared disqualified when he failed to meet the weight requirement. 

Pics: Heartbreaking moments of Vinesh Phogat