After the news of her disqualification broke, several curious questions came to the fore and one of them was if she weighed normal and was in the permissible limit earlier, how did she become overweight within a few hours?
Vinesh, you are a champion among champions! You are India’s pride and an inspiration for each and every Indian. Today’s setback hurts. I wish words could express the sense of despair that I am experiencing.At the same time, I know that you epitomise resilience. It has always been your nature to take challenges head on.Come back stronger! We are all rooting for you.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
As per Indian contingent’s medical head Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, every wrestler cuts his/her weight to fight in lesser categories.In the case of Vinesh, she fought at 53kg mostly with a natural weight of 55 to 56 kg.
It is with regret that the Indian contingent shares news of the disqualification of Vinesh Phogat from the Women’s Wrestling 50kg class. Despite the best efforts by the team through the night, she weighed in a few grams over 50kg this morning. No further comments will be made by the contingent at this time. The Indian team requests you respect Vinesh’s privacy. It would like to focus on the competitions on hand.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA)
Once Vinesh came into the 50 kg category, she had to shed at least 6kg before every competition. The sudden weight-cut is an extremely difficult process. After the first day, she gained around 1.5 kg after replenishment.
Once she had cut it, she couldn’t do it in permissible time which was very less. Sudden weight cuts can also cause some serious physical ailments and doctors don’t permit that.
Why did Vinesh fight in 50 kg category, if she always competed in 53kg category? This time Antim Panghal qualified in 53 kg category and Vinesh had to slash weight to compete in the 50 kg category. Meanwhile, Antim Panghal was deported from Paris and his accreditation was canceled due to disciplinary breach. Reports say, Antim’s sister Nisha used the Indian wrestler’s accreditation to enter the Olympic Games Village but was detained by the police. This was Antim’s debut Olympics performance.
Are players allowed concession in weight?
In wrestling, bouts in each weight category are held over two days. The weigh-in, to ensure wrestlers are not overweight in their category, takes place in the morning before the events begin, an official statement from the Olympics reveals.
“If a wrestler fails the weigh-in, they are disqualified.”
Wrestlers have weight cut through a calculated restriction of food and water along with sweating from exercises and sauna.
Due to weight cut wrestlers often get weak and have energy depletion. This affects their performance and hence for this they are given limited water and high energy food. As per Vinesh’s nutritionist, this could have been 1.5 kg in total. But in the final weigh-in Vinesh’s weight increased up to 100 grams.
She even cut her hair but her weight did not come down.
Rebound weight in athletes
Imagine you are bouncing on a trampoline. When you jump, you’re using energy to go up, and when you come down, the trampoline pushes you back up. Rebound weight in athletes is a bit like that trampoline effect, but for the body. It refers to the phenomenon where athletes might experience a temporary increase in body weight after intense training or competition.
Here’s how it works: During heavy training, athletes push their muscles hard, causing tiny tears. These tears are normal and part of muscle growth and repair. To fix these tears, your body sends extra fluids and nutrients to the muscles, which can cause temporary weight gain. It’s like your muscles are holding onto some extra water and nutrients to get stronger.
Intense exercise can cause inflammation. Think of it as your muscles getting a bit puffed up. This inflammation, while part of the healing process, can also contribute to the weight gain you see on the scale.
This rebound weight is usually short-term and not a sign of fat gain. It’s more like a natural part of the body’s recovery process. Most athletes see their weight stabilize as they recover from the intense training or competition.
