Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh was disappointed after Vinesh Phogat got disqualified from the women’s 50 kg gold medal match at the Paris Olympics after being weighed a few grams over the permissible limits on Wednesday morning.
"What has happened with Vinesh is very disheartening and disappointing for us. It was an assured gold medal for us but rules are rules we can't do anything in that. I think when a player comes so close to a medal match the organisers should take extra time to give verdict," Harbhajan told IANS.
"Still what Vinesh has done is quite inspiring. Beating world champion and Tokyo gold medalist is not an easy thing to achieve, yet she has done that. So I wish all the luck to Vinesh and I am really proud of her," Harbhajan added.
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. After being disqualified from the event, Vinseh will be placed last in the competition.
Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who lost to Vinesh Phogat in the semifinals, replaced her in the Olympic final of the 50kg category
Following the disqualification, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to IOA chief PT Usha and sought the options India has in the wake of Vinesh's setback. He also asked the IOA chief to explore the full range of options to help the grappler's case and urged PT Usha to file a strong protest regarding the disqualification, if that helps the wrestler.
Vinesh on Tuesday became the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the final of an Olympic Games after she defeated Cuba's Yusneylys Guzman 5-0 in the semifinal. Vinesh then advanced to her maiden semifinals after beating Ukraine's Oksana Vasylivna Livach 7-5 in her second bout of the day.
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 was set to play against USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt in the bid for a historic gold medal.