[Fuldagap]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

Now, coming to the most important part. Vinesh Phogat is a champion. This small talk about her getting special treatment, tax payers money spent on her is all very cheap. She has gone to great lengths to qualify for the Olympics despite the system. All those who are questioning her on her intent and integrity know nothing about the difficulties she has endured to reach Paris. Vinesh Phogat needs our support. She needed it when she was protesting against the sexual predator and she needs it now as she recuperates from a crushing blow in her quest for an Olympic medal.

Phogat went through hell to reach there. She deserves all the positives one can think of. But once a narrative is set on whatsapp/reels about a certain topic, it is hard to logically converse with people. It is futile to think of altering the course of the discussion based on logic.

The govt always supported Brij Bhushan and here is Phogat earning accolades for the country in a most patriotic way.

There are people who see through what and how the loss was. There are people who cannot see it, deliberately or not.

Phogat's win against Susaki was an iconic slap on the evils of the society and an epitome example of true grit, perseverance, never give up attitude & sportsmanship. An athlete like Phogat exhumes the spirit that lightens the world.

Retrospectively, things could have been managed this way or the other, she knows best what happened. Now it is what it is.

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by whencut86

Feeling ashamed to be an Indian is just going too far. Her weight category was 53 kgs and she opted for the 50kg category. She knew the risks. She was under 50kgs yesterday and was in sauna to sweat and reduce weight, no food and no liquids and very less hydration. Not blaming her here but she and her team went to great lengths to stick to 50kgs but tough luck. She had to be admitted for taking drips due to dehydration today.

Her normal weight category is the 53KG one and she lost the trials in the Nationals and another wrestler represented India in the 53kg category. She requested to contest in 50KG category months before Olympics and she was trying to maintain her weight at 50KG since March-April this year.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com...8.cms?from=mdr

The same administration you are criticizing consented to her requests for private coach and private physio and her own diet all at tax payers expense. The same administration let her play Asian Games without playing in the nationals and let her move down to 50kg at the last moment. Please don't believe some WhatsApp rumors since we can't fool the Olympic Federation internationally and deliberately increase her weight.

She tried to trick the weighing scales with lot of stuff but there is only so much her body could cope up with and it was tough luck. Agree that she was 50kg during weight check yesterday and won her bout fair and square and she atleast deserves a Silver but Olympic Federation rules are different though. Unfair but have to live with it not just for her but for all of us who wanted her to win Gold today.

No offence. Just my 2 cents. Please let us not make it political.

100% I am ashamed to be an Indian since the time the federation used their political clout to use excessive force against athletes who have done the country proud, all so that they can deflect serious charges against the federation head. Phogat turned all that around into three stellar back to back bouts, only to be disqualified for being 100 gms over? I hope there is a probe to uncover what really happened.

The federation did her no favours as Abhi has already pointed out, she earned her right to be there, just like most other athletes, you only had to watch her bouts to realize that she more than belonged there. In my eyes at least, she is already a champion. If anything, defending the federation which has been discredited and has used it's own political patronage to deflect charges is a political point in itself.

Finally, and this made me chuckle, it didn't take me any whatsApp rumour to write what I wrote. I have been following the Olympics and other quadrennial events for the last three decades now. What happened to Phogat is not something which happens every day. FYI, Mijain Lopez of Cuba has won the gold in the 130kg Greco Roman category in every edition since Beijing 2008. Paris was his fifth and last as he finally retires. He is not the only one as Cuba has dominated combat sports in Olympics for as long as I can remember. If an economic basket case like Cuba can ensure enough support to it's athletes and avoid snafus, if Phogats is really one, then how did we manage to botch up an almost sure shot chance at an Olympic gold for the country. I don't care if all you see is politics in what I wrote but I hope there is a probe not just into this but also the way the indian wrestling federation operates.

[DigitalOne]

This is the incredible team behind Vinesh Phogat.



Her Hungarian coach Woller Akos has been with her for 6+ years now.
To accuse her team of deliberate sabotage and conspiracy, after all they have achieved in the last few months (to get Vinesh to compete at the highest level in the 50Kg category from 53kgs itself deserves a Dronacharya award), needs a special kind of conspiracy-theory thinking. I only wish my fellow bhpians to Get Well Soon.

[ex-innova-guy]

Men’s 400m Final

Quincy Hall takes Gold and delivers a PB when it mattered the most. His last few meters charge was insane.

Video (Link)

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Vinesh set to retire(?) from Wrestling


Source

Even Messi wanted to retire (not an apple to apple comparison) after a lot of failures at international tournaments but eventually did come back and how! Hope she does the same and comes back stronger than ever.

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Things couldn’t get any more worse, Antim Panghal to be deported from Paris for disciplinary breach.

Wrestler Antim Panghal and her entourage will be deported from Paris after her sister Nisha used the Indian wrestler's accreditation to enter the Olympic Games Village during the Paris Olympics 2024 but was detained by the police.

The police questioned Nisha but she was released after some time. The authorities have decided to deport Antim's entire entourage and her accreditation was also canceled following the incident. Antim had earlier slumped to a humiliating 0-10 defeat to Turkey's Yetgil Zeynep in the women's 53 kg category.

"The Indian Olympic Association has decided to fly wrestler Antim and her support staff back after a disciplinary breach was brought to IOA's notice by the French authorities," the IOA said in a statement.

After losing her bout, she went to the hotel, where her designated coach Bhagat Singh and actual coach Vikas, who is also her coach, were put up, PTI reported.

Antim asked her sister to go to the Games Village and collect her belongings. While her sister managed to enter the Village, she was caught by the security officer while leaving.

Source

[fhdowntheline]

Except for the shooters, India's Olympics 2024 foray has been an unmitigated disaster thus far. Too much is being made of the Phogat issue frankly. These top level national athletes are well aware of what they are getting into, they have all kinds of support equipment and staff and they all ought to display professionalism of the highest order. The rules are the same for everyone.
Hope Neeraj Chopra redeems the situation, else its curtains down- better luck and prep next time.
Such amount of dramatic attention right from broadcast media to politicians and the powers at the highest level, should be accorded to far more serious matters.

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by DigitalOne

This is the incredible team behind Vinesh Phogat. .

Wow, so this is the team that messed it up. Whatever may be said, getting into such a silly issue and get disqualified due to it is something which is really a shame. Heck, they are professionals, paid for that, competing at the highest grounds - can’t they even take care of this simplest of the thing.

[Fuldagap]

Phogat's fiasco demands a natural but comedic "nation wants to know":

Since the previous day weight of Phogat was alright, what was the lapse on her part to go on actual weight test which led to her disqualification?
Since she had marvelously and meritoriously won her place, a silver was to be brought back with the right strategy. Rules clearly were conducive for the silver.

These suspicions would not have crossed an ordinary mind if there was no political history behind her, which had once directly/indirectly threatened her and athletes like her of zeroing their respective careers.

A sympathy for the managers and a sympathy for the govt support while an enmass social media and TV media trying to meekly accuse Phogat herself for the disqualification is solid reason enough, again for an ordinary mind, to suspect of something fishy. Her career has indeed ended even if honourably. Whatever be the reality crores of hearts have broken.

On the other hand the entire entourage of wrestler Antim Phangal has been deported. The blame again goes to the wrestler. It has become a cruel joke now.

[saket77]

Now this is what actually we should be ashamed of.
Taking rules and discipline lightly in the biggest sporting event.

"Wrestler Antim Panghal’s accreditation was cancelled by the Paris Olympics organising committee as a disciplinary action and she is being sent back to India with her four-member team of support staff, it has been learnt."

[Mrs&Mr_Shenu]

Allow me to bring another aspect of this fiasco and may help in bring some grace back.

Silver for Vinesh..
Why that must be Indian Olympic Leadership must be striving for..

Initially, Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from competing in the final of the women’s 50kg Freestyle in Paris Olympics 2024. To put this in perspective, Vinesh was found to be slightly over the 50kg weight limit (additional 100 grams), which led to her disqualification.

This rule is in place to ensure fairness and prevent any undue advantage. This was a certain medal opportunity for the grappler, who has recently overcome significant challenges to reach to this peak.

But wait!!! In other perspective, Vinesh is disqualified only from final match to compete. Why deprive her Medal (Silver in this case)?? She reached to final after competing with all those rivals legitimately. In case she is not fit to enter the final due to weight, disqualify her, but provide her medal she deserves..

The Olympics are a symbol of the highest values in sportsmanship, fairness, and human achievement. Upholding these values is crucial to maintaining the integrity and spirit of the Games.

In Vinesh Phogat’s case, it’s important to balance the rules with recognition of her efforts and achievements. Perhaps a fair solution could involve acknowledging her journey and performance up to the final, even if she cannot compete in the final match due to the weight issue. This way, the rules are respected, and her hard work is still honored.

"We rise above not by putting others down...
We rise by pulling everyone together.."

Let this be an opportunity to make things correct ...

[Fuldagap]

Originally Posted by Mrs&Mr_Shenu

But wait!!! In other perspective, Vinesh is disqualified only from final match to compete. Why deprive her Medal (Silver in this case)?? She reached to final after competing with all those rivals legitimately. In case she is not fit to enter the final due to weight, disqualify her, but provide her medal she deserves..

Source

[saket77]

I would concur that Vinesh should have been awarded the Silver. But then there are rules to go by- at times unfair.

Only thing I can think of is that awarding the silver to Vinesh signifies that she won in the Semi-finals. And if she won, then how come the player who lost is competing in the finals. So technical discrepancy. To overcome this issue, they must declare that she technically lost. And thus the medal cannot be awarded. This is the only explanation that comes to my mind. Though, unfair on ground.

[PreludeSH]

Its sad that something like this happened. When did the support staff know that she is overweight and did they know this before she went to weigh-in ?

All said and done, rules are rules. They are also unambiguous in disqualification. There are so many theories going on even in parliament with walk outs like they know who did this intentionally.

Its time to stop speculating and trying to re-write the rules.

[kiranknair]

Originally Posted by saket77

Now this is what actually we should be ashamed of.
Taking rules and discipline lightly in the biggest sporting event.

"Wrestler Antim Panghal’s accreditation was cancelled by the Paris Olympics organising committee as a disciplinary action and she is being sent back to India with her four-member team of support staff, it has been learnt."

Shameful. Not just this - Antim's personal support staff - Vikas and Bhagat travelled in an inebriated state in a taxi and refused to pay the driver, who then called police. What do these idiots think - even if you think you are going on a vacation with tax payers money, you need to have basic ettiquette and sense of responsibility. They think they are still in India where things can be adjusted.

Link : https://www.rediff.com/sports/report...n/20240808.htm

[Bhargav7]

Originally Posted by whencut86

The same administration you are criticizing consented to her requests for private coach and private physio and her own diet all at tax payers expense.

From what I know, Vinesh Phoghat's Coach, Nutritionist and other staff are funded by Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), a private trust started by Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone. Also, as a tax payer, I would be more than happy if my money is spent on a real Champion like Vinesh. Whatever happened was sheer bad luck and don't think anyone has to be blamed - as clarified by Viren Rasquinha over twitter. Viren is the present CEO of OGQ.

https://x.com/virenrasquinha/status/1821447006373507321

Setting aside what the Government and federations has done for sports, we have to give OGQ its due credit. Some of the big names like PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Mary Kom and hundreds of other athletes have been trained and funded by them.

[deathwalkr]

Meanwhile amidst all the chaos, Aman Sehrawat has qualified for the semifinals in the 57kg freestyle category