Paris Olympics 2024 | '100 gm is not going to take away the love of 1.4 billion Indians': Deepa Malik to Vinesh Phogat

We will probably never know how many anguished tears Vinesh Phogat cried into her pillow since Wednesday morning.

Competing in her third Olympics, Vinesh had been feted as a medal prospect in women's 50 kg event and, although wrestling pundits nodded sagely and made measured remarks about her podium chances in this new weight category, arguing that she was out of training for months while being away for protests against former WFI president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, there can be no denying the 'optimistic, fingers crossed' dreams of glory with which India sent her off to Paris.

How we Indians yearned for Vinesh's glory! How thrilling if Vinesh, India's most successful female wrestler, could pull off the unthinkable and take her place on the winner's podium? Sadly, ‘what if' became ‘what wasn't'.

She tried her best but, in the end, finally resigned to her fate.

Over the past two years, Vinesh has fought with fire, from being intimidated by security forces to spending almost 40 days sleeping on the drenched and muddy sidewalks to returning her awards in protest and nearly tossing all her medals into the Ganges in a bid to persuade the authorities to act against the WFI chief. In a nutshell, she has been through hell. And yet, she managed to evade her emotions, employed good strategy and exerted all her effort to perfect her techniques.

Sometimes she seemed forever fortunate to have come this far.

That ended on Wednesday morning at Paris' Olympic Village after Vinesh was disqualified from the final and barred from the podium after she failed the morning weigh-in for being overweight by about 100 grams. No sooner than the news emerged did it begin to spread like wildfire. The fans within us grew enraged, with many holding on to the last glimmer of hope that she may still return with a medal anyhow.

While such optimism remained steadfast throughout a day of extraordinary emotion and drama that fluctuated from one extreme to another, we wondered what if Vinesh suffered the fate of so many skilled athletes before her, what if this put an end to her sporting brilliance? Or, more worryingly, what if the emotional pressure to bring home an Olympic medal becomes too much and Vinesh, as so many others have done, simply walks away, ditching her dreams of becoming the best and, with them, India's Olympic dream in this discipline? Only that it took less than 24 hours for it to come true.

Also Read: ‘It's a collective failure': Wrestling coach Jagmal on Vinesh's disqualification

Vinesh, in the wee hours of Thursday, brought down the curtain on her career and waved goodbye to wrestling with a gently emotional farewell. "Maa, wrestling won against me, I lost... Your dreams and my courage are shattered. I don't have any more strength now. Goodbye Wrestling 2001-2024. I will forever be indebted to all of you. Please forgive (me)," she wrote on X.

Like any other athlete, Vinesh has long defined herself as an Olympian, but instead of medals, she measured her career by moments. Like fighting tenaciously until the last minute in Tokyo, or when she sobbed inconsolably while being stretchered off after suffering a knee dislocation during her quarterfinal bout in Rio. Like her extraordinarily powerful leg attacks and defence that guided her to the final this year, or even her delicious twin bronze in the Worlds.

Reacting to the development, India's former top-ranked paddler G Sathiyan, who is currently in Paris, said: "It was very heartbreaking and shocking to hear this news in the morning in the Olympic Village. But what she has achieved here despite the adversity is truly remarkable. She will always be a superstar for all of us."

Deepa Malik, Paralympic silver medallist and India's first female para-athlete to do so, echoed the same sentiments. "We are proud of what she has achieved. It is absolutely unfortunate to not see her coming home with a medal. However, winning and losing is a part of the game but Vinesh has won our hearts and respect. Three bouts in one day, pulling down the Japanese wrestler who has never been defeated in the last 14 years by anyone internationally. The love of the entire nation is reflected in the tweet of the Honourable PM Narendra Modi when he said "We are all heartbroken and shattered but we are very proud of her and for us, she will always be a winner". Her resilience has been amazing, recovering from surgeries, coming back to play, and winning all three bouts in a row speaks for itself. 100 gm is not going to take away the love of 1.4 billion Indians," she said.

Also Read: 'Don't have JioTV': Father reveals how media broke the news of Bhaker's bronze

Dutee Chand, a two-time Olympian and 100m national record holder, called it 'unjust' and 'ridiculous', expressing her disbelief at Vinesh's disqualification over a 'mere' 100 grams.

"This is a very sad day for India. Our bodies are such that if we drink water or even a little food, the weight usually increases by 100-500 gm, which is normal. I would say this rule is very unfair. It is not easy for an athlete to train the body according to these rules. The struggles are such that it is beyond the understanding of the common man. Vinesh was performing so well, and they disqualified her only because of a mere 100 grams. This was very unjust. She was also under tremendous pressure to win a medal, and I believe she did all that she could to shed weight. 100 grams should have been overlooked, it is ridiculous. It is a sheer injustice to Vinesh if you ask me. She dreamt of this moment and worked so hard to get here, and they shattered her dreams," Dutee said.

Also Read: Chief medical officer reveals 'drastic' steps taken to cut Vinesh's weight

Backtrack to Tuesday, Vinesh was unable to contain herself when the audience instinctively leapt to their feet to applaud her, as she was left in tears after beating the mighty Japanese Yui Susaki, a four-time world champion and defending Olympic champion. Her emotional reaction revealed that it was something that meant a great deal. The sight of her slumped against the mat sobbing uncontrollably said enough.

But two bouts later, her fortunes ended up reversed. Controversy or no controversy, it mattered little.

But what it did was bring the career of India's most decorated female wrestler to a tragic end all at once.

Sometimes, sports is anything but kind, Vinesh will tell you better!