Thought She Might Die: Vinesh Phogats Coach Feared For Her Life During Intense Weight-Cut Before Olympic Disqualification

Paris Olympics 2024: Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat defied the odds and silenced her critics by achieving a monumental victory against the world No. 1 and reigning Olympic champion Yui Susaki at the 2024 Paris Olympics. With this remarkable win, Vinesh made history as India’s first woman wrestler to reach the finals of the Olympic Games. However, in a tragic turn of events, she was disqualified on the morning of her gold medal match for being just 100 grams overweight. This disqualification not only dashed her hopes of competing for gold but also robbed her of the chance to secure a silver medal.

Following this setback, Vinesh Phogat appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), requesting that she be awarded a joint silver medal in the Women’s 50kg event. Unfortunately, earlier this week, CAS dismissed her appeal, though the detailed reasoning behind their decision is expected to be released later this month.

In a now-deleted Facebook post, Woller Akos, who coached Vinesh during the Paris Olympics, revealed the harrowing details of the extreme weight-cutting process that led to her disqualification. Akos shared his deep concerns about the toll the intense weight loss was taking on Vinesh, admitting that he feared for her life during the grueling five-and-a-half-hour session.

“After the semi-final, 2.7 kg of excess weight remained,” Akos wrote. “We worked out for an hour and twenty minutes, but 1.5 kg was still there. Even after 50 minutes in the sauna, there was no sweat. We had no other choice, so from midnight to 5:30 in the morning, she worked tirelessly on cardio machines and wrestling moves, with only brief rests in between. She collapsed, but we managed to get her up, and she spent another hour in the sauna. I don’t want to sound dramatic, but at that moment, I genuinely feared she might die.”

On the morning of what should have been her final bout, Vinesh was hospitalized due to severe dehydration. Akos also recounted a poignant conversation they had on the way back from the hospital, where Vinesh shared her thoughts on the situation.

“Vinesh told me, ‘Coach, don’t be sad. You always said that in difficult moments, I should draw strength from the fact that I beat the best woman wrestler in the world, Japan’s Yui Susaki. I achieved that. I proved that I belong among the best. Medals and podiums are just symbols; the performance is what truly matters.'”

Akos also reflected on Vinesh’s earlier plea to her fellow wrestlers, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, not to discard their hard-earned Olympic medals. Despite their explanation that their journey and performance held more value than the medals themselves, Vinesh remained proud of her accomplishment. Akos concluded by expressing pride in the fact that their training program enabled Vinesh to defeat the world’s best and become the first Indian woman wrestler to reach an Olympic final.