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Days after Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from her gold medal match in women’s 50kg category at the Paris Olympics 2024, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President, PT Usha on Sunday, August 11, hit out at the athlete and her coaching staff over the weigh-in row. Speaking ahead of the closing ceremony of Paris Olympics 2024, the former Indian athlete stated that it is the responsibility of the athlete to manage their weight while adding that the attack on Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala, the Chief Medical officer is “unacceptable”.
It is to be noted that Vinesh Phogat was disqualified on the morning of her gold medal match after surpassing the permissible limit by over 100 grams. While her disqualification forced her to announce retirement from the sport, even the Parliament in India went out, starting a blame game leading to the uproar.
Responsibility of weight management of athletes is that of each athlete and his or her coach: PT Usha
"...the responsibility of weight management of athletes in sport like wrestling, weightlifting, boxing and judo is that of each athlete and his or her coach and NOT that of the IOA-appointed Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala and his team," PT Usha said in a statement. “The hate directed at the IOA medical team, especially Dr. Pardiwala, is unacceptable and worthy of condemnation." She hoped that those rushing to judge the IOA medical team "would consider all facts before arriving at any conclusions,” she further added.
The former Indian athletes further went on to state that every athlete had their own support team and they would have worked to get these in track. “Each Indian athlete in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in such sport had his or her own support team. These support teams have been working with the athletes over so many years,” PT Usha added. "The IOA appointed a medical team a couple of months ago, primarily as a team that would assist in the recovery and injury management of athletes during and after their competition. This team was also designed to support athletes who did not have their own team of nutritionists and physiotherapists,” the 60-year-old concluded.
It is to be noted that the 29-year-old Vinesh Phogat became the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the gold medal match in women’s 50kg category. However, her fate took a different turn, the Indian athlete is fighting for a joint silver medal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on her plea.
