The Indian Olympic Association said on Wednesday that Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from competing in a gold medal bout at the Paris Olympics after she failed to make weight by just a few grams.
Phogat, who became one of the faces of high-profile protests against a powerful sports official accused of sexually harassing female wrestlers in India last year, was scheduled to compete against Sarah Hildebrandt of the United States for a gold medal in the 50-kilogram weight class on Wednesday.
But early Wednesday morning, the Indian Olympic Association announced on X that “despite the best efforts by the team through the night, she weighed in a few grams over 50 kilograms this morning.”
Early last year, Phogat was one of three Indian wrestlers who accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, then the president of India’s wrestling federation, of sexual harassment. Phogat and Olympic medalists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik staged a series of public protests against Singh on behalf of seven young female wrestlers who had reported being harassed.
They staged a protest camp that was violently dismantled by the police, and they were dragged to detention. Later, the wrestlers threatened to throw their medals, including two Olympic bronzes, into the Ganges River.
The Olympics website now says that Hildebrandt will compete for the gold medal against Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzmán Lopez, who lost to Phogat in the semifinal.
India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, said Phogat’s “setback hurts.” In a statement on X, he said, “I wish words could express the despair that I am experiencing.”
