Paris Olympics 2024 , 07 August 2024 Match Reports: In a shocking development, Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the Olympics on Wednesday for being overweight before the final of the women's 50 kg wrestling event at the Paris Olympics, leaving her empty-handed while India's biggest hope in the sport, Ankhim Panghal, also got eliminated. Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Mirabai Chanu missed out on a medal in weightlifting and finished fourth. The country also faced disappointment in athletics. India's campaign ended after the Indian women's team lost 1-3 to Germany in table tennis.

Vinesh disqualified from wrestling

Vinesh had created history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to reach an Olympic final. Till morning, she seemed certain to win at least a silver medal but she was found to be 100 grams overweight. 29-year-old Vinesh was taken to the polyclinic in Khelgaon as she was dehydrated in the morning. An Indian coach said, "In the morning her weight was found to be 100 grams overweight. Rules do not allow this and she has been disqualified." The Indian Olympic Association requested to respect Vinesh's privacy and said, "We are sorry to inform you that Vinesh Phogat has been disqualified from the 50 kg category of women's wrestling. Despite the tireless efforts of the team throughout the night, her weight was found to be more than 50 kg in the morning." She was eliminated in the final women's 53 kg category after a humiliating 0-10 loss to Turkey's Yetgil Zenip. The 19-year-old debutant's hopes of remaining in the race for the bronze medal through the repechage were also dashed when Zeynep lost to Germany's Annika Wendl in the quarter-finals. Earlier, the bronze medalist of the World Cup Championship and the Olympic quota holder in this category lost in the final 101 seconds. Earlier Vinesh used to play in this weight category.

The Prime Minister boosted the morale

According to sources, Prime Minister Modi took detailed information from Indian Olympic Association President PT Usha in Vinesh's case and also asked about various options. He has also asked to register a strong protest against this decision to help Vinesh. Earlier, Prime Minister Modi encouraged Vinesh and said that she is the pride of India and she has to come back strongly. He wrote on Instagram, "Vinesh, you are a champion among champions. You are the pride of India and an inspiration for every Indian." He further wrote, "Today's setback has hurt. I wish I could tell in words how disappointed I am at this time. But I know that you will come back again. It is in your nature to face challenges boldly. Come back strongly. We are all with you.

Mirabai missed the medal, and finished fourth

Mirabai Chanu lifted a total of 199 kg with 88 in snatch and 111 in clean and jerk. She missed the medal by just one kg. China's current Olympic champion Hou Zhihui, a strong contender for the gold medal, secured the first place with an Olympic record in clean and jerk. She lifted a total of 206 (snatch 89, clean and jerk 117) kg. Romania's Valentina Cambei won the silver with 206 (93 and 112) kg and Thailand's Surodchan Khambo won the bronze medal with 200 (88 and 112) kg.

The women's team lost in the table tennis team event

Despite Archana Kamath's brief challenge in the quarterfinals of the women's table tennis team event, the Indian team lost 1-3 to technically superior Germany. The defeat of the Indian women's team also ended the country's campaign in the table tennis event at the Paris Olympics. The Indian pair of Sreeja Akula and Archana lost the opening doubles match to the pair of Yuan Wan and Ziona Shan 5-11 11-8 10-12 6-11. India's star player Manika Batra lost the match 11-8 5-11 7-11 5-11 against Annette Kaufman in the first singles. Archana won the second singles over Ziona Shan 19-17 1-11 11-5 11-9. In the third singles, Kaufman defeated Sreeja 11-6 11-7 11-7 to give Germany a win and enter the semifinals.

Disappointment from Annu Rani and Yaraj

India's experienced javelin thrower Annu Rani once again failed to impress at the world level and was eliminated from the qualification round after a very poor performance. 31-year-old national record holder Annu started with 55.81 meters and threw 53.22 meters and 53.55 meters in the next two attempts. She finished 15th among 16 competitors in Group A and 26th overall. National record holder India's 100m hurdler Jyoti Yaraji finished seventh after a poor performance in her first heat and missed out on an automatic semi-final berth. Yaraji, who is playing Olympics for the first time, is also the first Indian to participate in the 100m hurdles at the Games. She clocked 13.16 seconds in the fourth heat and finished 35th among 40 runners. In the high jump, Sarvesh Kushare also could not reach the final. He finished 13th in Group B and 25th overall. He could only jump 2.15 meters while his season's best effort is 2.25 meters. Earlier, Suraj Panwar and Priyanka Goswami could not complete the race in the marathon racewalk mixed relay team. Goswami withdrew after the fourth and last stage of the 41.4 km race. India's Abdullah Abubakar and Praveen Chitravel failed to make it to the finals of the men's triple jump event by finishing 21st and 27th respectively.