FAQ on Vinesh's DQ

The wrestler was disqualified on the morning of her 50kg final at the Olympics for being 100gms over the limit. Swaroop Swaminathan explains what happened and why...

V INESH Phogat's tryst with history was snatched away from her in the most heart-breaking of circumstances. During the mandatory weigh in on Wednesday morning, Phogat, who was scheduled to fight in the gold medal bout in the 50kg category, was 100gms over. Here's an explainer into the whole situation...

■Yeah, we read about it. But 100gms... seems to be a bit harsh?

Depends on which way you look at it. But the rules are the rules. From a broader perspective, all combat sports (taekwondo, boxing, wrestling, judo, karate to name a few) are divided based on weight class.

This is to ensure that athletes are evenly matched up. For example, in women's wrestling, 50, 53, 57, 62, 68 and 76. Phogat was fighting in the 50kg category. She couldn't have been more than 50kgs at the weigh in. It doesn't matter if her weight was 50.1 or 60.1. United World Wrestling (UWW), the world governing body for the sport, allows a 2kg tolerance but that doesn't apply at the Olympics.

■Why was she allowed to fight on the first day then?

Wrestling events are spread over two days. So, there are two weigh-ins, one on each day.

Phogat was below the threshold on Tuesday morning, on the first day of her events. But United World Wrestling (UWW) rules state that all wrestlers involved in the second day of action will have to have a second weigh-in on day two. These rules were well known beforehand.

■ Why strip her of silver then?