Vinesh Phogat disqualification: An Analysis of Wrestling Rules

By Vaidehi Sharma, a student of BALLB at Mohanlal Sukhadia University

Introduction

Recently, an Indian woman wrestler was disqualified from the finals at the Paris Olympics 2024. The wrestler was found to be overweight and was disqualified for being overweight ahead of what would have been a historic final in the women’s 50kg event at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Notably, no Indian woman wrestler has ever reached the finals stage at the Olympics.Set to become the first Indian woman to compete in a wrestling final at the Olympics, Vinesh’s dream was cut short after she failed to make the weight on the morning of the gold medal bout against the USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt. En route to the final, Vinesh pulled off the biggest win of her career after she defeated the defending Olympic champion Yui Susaki of Japan in the opening round[1].

Later, Vinesh beat European champion Oksana Livach of Ukraine, After that competing and besting against Pan American Games champion Yusneylis Guzman of Cuba in the semi-finals.

Despite taking some drastic measures to cut down her weight, Vinesh was found marginally overweight at the mandatory weigh-in and was disqualified. As per the news, it was reported that she worked hard the whole night to achieve her goal weight.

On the back of her heartbreaking exit from the Paris 2024 Olympics wrestling competition, a dejected Vinesh announced her retirement from the sport a few days later.

Vinesh Phogat’s Historic Career in Wrestling

Vinesh Phogat is regarded as one of the finest wrestlers to emerge from India. She is a  three-time Olympian,has three Commonwealth Games golds, two World Championships bronze medals and a gold medal each at the Asian Games and Asian Championships. She also reached the final at the Paris 2024 Olympics but was disqualified after failing a weigh-in on the morning of her gold medal match.

Her career in wrestling started by following the footsteps of her cousins Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari. When Geeta Phogat was establishing herself as a national player, Vinesh started wrestling. She had to overcome various social barriers and setbacks, including the untimely death of her father

After a shining junior career, Vinesh won her first major international title at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, claiming gold in the 48kg weight category.

More medals would follow Vinesh as she built towards her maiden Olympic experience.

Vinesh sealed her quota place for Rio 2016 by winning her Olympic qualifying event in Istanbul and was riding high on confidence going into the Games.But after winning her way through to the quarter-finals, Vinesh's dreams of winning a medal for her country at the age of 21 came crashing down.Facing People’s Republic of China's Sun Yanan in the last eight, Vinesh dislocated her right knee early in the match[2].

She also won gold medals at both the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast and the Jakarta Asian Games, and bagged bronze at the Asian Wrestling Championships before clinching her maiden World Championships medal, a bronze, at Nur-Sultan.

Heading into the Tokyo Olympics, Vinesh Phogat had been in exceptional form. She was unbeaten throughout the year and also won her maiden gold at the Asian Championships.

Seeded first in the women’s 53kg weight category at Tokyo 2020, Vinesh Phogat began with a win over Sweden’s Sofia Mattsson but lost her next bout against Belarus’ Vanesa Kaladzinskaya and was knocked out. She later underwent elbow surgery and returned to the mat in 2022 and instant success followed with a bronze medal at the World Wrestling Championships 2022 in Belgrade and a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

She also won the BBC Indian Sportswoman Of The Year award for the year. Phogat was also named in the Indian squad for the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou but missed the competition due to injury.

With Vinesh struggling with injuries, Antim Panghal emerged as India’s top wrestler in the women’s 53kg weight category on the back of successful campaigns at the 2023 World Championships and the Asian Games. Antim also secured a quota for India in the same category.

Vinesh, however, featured in her third Olympics on the trot at Paris 2024 after cutting down weight for the 50kg division where she was later found to be overweight before the finals. Her exceptional career has been a guiding stone and inspiration for the youth throughout the country.

United World Wrestling Rules

These are universal rules for wrestling that apply to all wrestling championships. These rules are embodied in a charter containing 57 articles divided into 12 chapters.

Article 11 of the UWW: Weigh-In:

According to article 11 of the UWW, the organizers shall arrange for a weigh-in each morning of the concerned weight category. The weight-in and medical control shall last for a period of 30 minutes.

A second weigh-in shall be arranged on the second morning of the concerned weight category in which only the wrestlers who participate in the repechagesand finals have to come for the weigh-in. This weigh-in will last 15 minutes.

It also states that no wrestler may be accepted at the weigh-in if he has not undergone a medical examination the first morning. Therefore, it is the duty of wrestlers to appear at the medical examination and the weigh-in with their license and accreditation.

Concerning the uniform of the wrestlers it states that only a singlet is allowed as uniform at the weigh-in.

 After having been examined by qualified physicianswho are obliged to eliminate any wrestler who presents any danger of contagious disease, the wrestler can be weighed in. No weight tolerance will be allowed for the singlet.

Contestants must cut their fingernails very short and must be in perfect physical condition.

There is no limit as to how many times a wrestler can get on the scale. As per his/her convenience throughout the entire weigh-in period, wrestlers have the right, each in turn, to get on the scale as many times as they wish.

The referees responsible for the weigh-in must check that all wrestlers are of the weight corresponding to thecategory in which they are entered for the competition, that they fulfill all the requirements of Article 5,and inform any wrestler of the risk he runs if he presents himself on the mat in incorrect dress. Referees willrefuse to weigh a wrestler who is not dressed correctly.

The referees responsible for the weigh-in will receive the results of the draw and will be allowed to controlonly the athletes who are on this list.

If an athlete does not attend or fail the weigh-in (the 1st or the 2nd weigh-in), he will be eliminated from thecompetition and ranked last, without rank

Exception: cf. Article 56 – Medical Service Intervention:

The general rule is that if any athlete fails to attend any of the weigh-ins, he shall be eliminated from the competition and would be ranked last. But this rule has an exception if an athlete is injured and declared to be unfit to continue in the competition, then the concerned athletewon’t have to attend the second weigh-in and he will be ranked based on the points that he earned until hisinjury.

Article 8 of the UWW-Competition System:

The medical control and a first weigh-in will be held on the morning of the concerned weight category. Thequalified athletes for the finals and repechages will be weighed in again the second morning of the concernedweight category. No more weight tolerance will be allowed for the second weigh-in.2kg weight tolerance is allowed for the World Cup and for the International Tournaments (Except UWW RankingEvents)[3].

Requirements under Article 5

All athletes of all age categories are required to comply with the UWW Uniform guidelines to participate in the United World Wrestling events.These Guidelines are intended to allow innovative design features in conformity with therules and regulations for wrestling.

Responsibility of compliance

At all events organized by United World Wrestling, the National Federations are responsible; and at the OlympicGames, the National Olympic Committees are responsible for ensuring that the items worn or used by themembers of their delegation comply with the terms of these rules.

General Considerations

According to the article, a singlet is the standard uniform that is used across all Olympic styles.The wrestling singlet must be made up of a smooth fabric without any rough edges or danger or irritation, neither for the user nor for the opponent.The singlet shall provide to each wrestler all possibilities, to execute their holds and technique.

Violations

As per Article 5, the referee must check at the weigh-in that each competitor satisfies the requirements of this article. The wrestler must be warned at the weigh-in if his appearance is non-compliant. If the wrestler fails to comply thewrestlers’ federation will be fined at the conclusion of the competition.

If the wrestler enters the mat with theincorrect designation for the match, officials will allow a maximum of one minute in order for him to comply. If,after this time, the wrestler is still at fault, he will lose the match by forfeit.

The athletes are prohibited from:

1. Wearing the emblem or abbreviation of another country.
2. Applying any greasy or sticky substance to the body
3. Arriving at the mat perspiring for the beginning of the match and the beginning of each period.
4. Wearing bandages on fingers, wrists, arms, or ankles except in the case of injury and on doctor’s orders.These bandages must be covered with elastic straps.
5. Wearing any object that might cause injury to the opponent, such as rings, bracelets, prostheses, piercings, etc.
6. Wearing under-wired bras for Women’s wrestlers

Conclusion

Though Vinesh's disqualification is tragic news to the nation, yet it is to be kept in mind that rules are same for everyone and they cannot be modified for anyone. Vinesh Phogat even appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sports that she be eligible for at least a silver medal. The CAS though sympathized with her but sadly rejected her appealstating that she would not be awarded any medal according to the rules. The nation will proudly remember the contribution of the brave wrestler Vinesh Phogat.

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[1]https://olympics.com/en/news/vinesh-phogat-letter-india-wrestling-paris-2024-olympics-reaction accessed on August 23, 2024

[2]<https://olympics.com/en/athletes/vinesh-phogat> accessed on August 23,2024

[3]<https://uww.org/sites/default/files/2019-12/wrestling_rules.pdf> accessed on August 23, 2024