A billion dreams were shattered on Wednesday (August 7) when Vinesh Phogat, the first Indian woman ever to reach a wrestling final in Olympics, was disqualified after having been found overweight just hours before the bout for the gold medal. The reactions started pouring in on social media platforms with political leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself express profound shock and heartbreak after the official X handle of India's Olympic contingent announced the sad news
almost immediately after the news broke, fans took to social media to vent their anger and allege that this was conspiracy against the wrestler who was part of the agitation against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the former chief of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). The agitating boxers had raised allegations of sexual harassment on Singh.
Those who suspected a conspiracy trained their guns on Brij Bhushan Singh and the ruling dispensation.
Some X user held the 'tanashahi' (dictatorial) regime responsible for the shocking development.
Indian boxer and olympian Vijender Singh told India Today that it was strange what happened with Vinesh Phogat. In the video of the interaction posted on X, Singh can be heard as saying that it was not tough to reduce 100 grams in a day, implying that all did not seem alright to him when Vinesh Phogat's case was concerned.
Even celebrities raised questions. Actress Swara Bhasker asked if anybody believed being overweight by a few grams was the reason Phogat was disqualified. The post had rhetorical tone.