Haircut, No Water Or Food For Days: What Vinesh Phogat Did To Compete In Lower Weight Category

A piece of heartbreaking news emerged from the Paris Olympic Games as India's Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the 50kg women's freestyle wrestling final. Over a billion people were gunning for Vinesh as she accomplished an unprecedented feat by becoming the first woman from the country to qualify for a wrestling final in the Olympic Games. But, just as prayers had started across the country ahead of Vinesh's gold medal bout, the entire sporting fraternity received a massive shock as Vinesh was disqualified for roughly weighing 100 grams over the limit of 50kg.

Vinesh usually competes in the 53kg category but Vinesh decided to switch her weight category for the Paris Olympic Games, deciding to compete in the 50kg category. To make sure she falls within the weight limit, although the 50kg category didn't align with her natural weight, Vinesh took some extreme steps.

As per a report, Vinesh not only cut her hair to fall under the weight category of 50kg but also tried to draw some blood out of her veins, hoping to meet the criteria. Yet, the efforts didn't fetch her the results she wanted.

Vinesh had to take such extreme measures after her weight went up by 1kg on Tuesday night, sources told NDTV. She did manage to bring down the weight by 900 gms but the last 100gm could not be cut off.

Vijay Dahiya, another Indian wrestler who knows the intricate details of the sport, spoke to NDTV on the matter and revealed that athletes are usually given a set time by which they have to submit their weight. 

For instance, if a player is weighed in at 8:05 PM and is found to be overweight, the authority gives time till the deadline (8:30 PM for instance) to reduce the weight. However, there's no scope of improvement if the weight