New Delhi, Aug 7 Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Bajrang Punia hailed Vinesh Phogat as "a gold medalist of courage and morality" after the Indian grappler got disqualified from the women’s 50 kg event at the Paris Olympics after being weighed a few grams over the permissible limits on Wednesday morning.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) released a statement on Wednesday addressing Vinesh's exit from the Games due to being overweight and asked to respect the privacy of the grappler.
"Vinesh, you are a gold medalist of courage and morality. You have fought with great courage. Yesterday, when the Olympic officials weighed you before playing, your weight was absolutely perfect. No one wants to believe what happened this morning. 100 grams. I can't believe that this has happened to you. The whole country is unable to hold back its tears. Olympic medals of all countries on one side and your medal on the other," Punia posted on 'X.'
"Every person in the world was praying for you. Every woman in the world felt this medal as a personal medal. I wish these voices of all the women of the world reach the right place. I hope that all the women wrestlers of the world playing in the Olympics will stand in solidarity with Vinesh," he added.
Ace shuttler PV Sindhu, who is a two-time Olympic medallist, sent "Universe's positivity" to Vinesh after her disqualificationand credited the Indian grappler as 'champion player.'
"Dear @Phogat_Vinesh, you will always be a champion in our eyes. I was deeply hoping you could win the gold. The little time I spent with you at PDCSE was watching a woman with a superhuman will fight to get better. I am here for you always, sending all the universe’s positivity your way," Sindhu Posted on 'Instagram.'
Vinesh was set to play against USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt in the bid for a historic gold medal. Following her disqualification, she will be placed last as per UWW rules.
Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who lost to Vinesh in the semifinals, replaced her in the Olympic final of the 50kg category.
She started her campaign by stunning world No. 1, Japan's four-time World Champion and Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Yui Susaki, who was undefeated in 95 international matches in her entire career as a wrestler.
She then advanced to her maiden Olympic semifinal after beating Ukraine's Oksana Vasylivna Livach 7-5 in her second bout of the day.
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