In addition to the disappointment, there was also the desperation to get information – about how the wrestler was doing, why she couldn’t keep her weight. Conspiracy theorists had an easy time. After much speculation Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwalathe Chief Medical Officer of the Indian Team Delegation (CMO) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President PT Usha has finally released a video to explain the situation.
“Wrestlers usually compete in a weight class below their natural weight. This gives them an advantage as they are fighting against less powerful opponents. The process of losing weight involves deliberately restricting food and water, as well as sweating through exercise and sauna until the morning weigh-in.
“This weight loss leads to weakness and loss of energy, which is counterproductive for competition. Therefore, to replenish energy, limited water and high-calorie foods are given after the weigh-in. Vinesh’s nutritionist has calculated this to be 1.5 kg. Sometimes weight regain occurs after a competition,” said Dr. Pardiwala.
“Vinesh had three fights (on Tuesday) and hence she had to consume small amounts of water to prevent dehydration. Her weight after the competition was increased. The coach initiated the normal process of weight reduction that he always does with Vinesh and was confident that she would succeed. However, it was found that Vinesh was 100 gms over her 50 kg weight category and hence she was disqualified. All possible drastic measures were taken, including cutting off her hair and shortening her jersey.”
Obviously, there was a mistake. It was not managed well. Dr. Pardiwala did not speak about it, but revealed that they took all measures to ensure that Vinesh was physically and mentally OK. As a precautionary measure, Vinesh was given intravenous fluids after his disqualification to prevent dehydration.
“We are also getting blood tests done at the local hospital to make sure that everything is fine. All of Vinesh’s parameters have been normal throughout the process and she is completely fine. Vinesh has just spoken to the President of the IOA and mentioned that although she is perfectly normal physically and medically, she is disappointed with her disqualification.”
