In a shocking turn of events, former India wrestler Vinesh Phogat has accused Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chief PT Usha of playing politics during the Paris Olympics with her situation. During her hospital stay, Usha visited her and took a photo, which was widely shared on social media. Vinesh feels this was more about show than genuine support.
Speaking to a local media channel she said, " I am standing here, you are taking photos without telling me, you are then posting them on social media and saying that we are standing together, it doesn't happen like this
Vinesh Phogat returned heartbroken from the Paris Olympics after being denied a medal following a failed weigh-in ahead of her gold-medal match. Vinesh weighed 100gm over her freestyle category of 50kg and was thus eliminated from the Paris Games after reaching the final. She announced her retirement post the drama
Her appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for a joint silver medal was also dismissed.The drastic efforts to cut down weight ahead of her final led to dehydration, for which she had to be hospitalized. Vinesh described her experience in Paris as a politically charged situation that added to her disillusionment with the sport.
IOA support for CAS appeal was slow: Vinesh phogat
In the interview, Vinesh Phogat also revealed that the Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) support for her appeal to reverse the disqualification was slow and came only as an afterthought. She had to take the initiative herself and personally file an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in hopes of securing a silver medal. The IOA’s involvement, she noted, appeared to be more of a third-party gesture rather than proactive support during her critical moment.
She stated “Harish Salve Sir joined the case a day later. The case was filed by India or Vinesh? Vinesh. Obviously. The lawyers in Paris filed the case on my behalf. It wasn’t done by the Indian government, they were the third party. We represent our country and then the government oversees us. Why do associations and governments send athletes? So we can represent every resident at every tournament, at every location. They were looking to make media bytes,”
She further added, “You cannot expect positive results from Sanjay Singh,” continued Phogat on the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and their claims of being in talks with United World Wrestling (UWW). “There is no doubt (about his intentions). We cannot trust him. He is a dummy candidate of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. WFI still runs at Brij Bhushan’s home. Anyone with the power can go check,”
