PT Usha slams Vinesh Phogat over Paris Olympics 2024 disqualification, says ‘It is her fault…’

On the same day that Vinesh Phogat celebrated her victory in the Julana constituency elections, becoming an MLA in Haryana, IOA President PT Usha addressed the controversy surrounding the wrestler’s disqualification from the Paris Olympics, attributing the missed medal opportunity to Phogat’s own actions.

In response to Vinesh Phogat’s election victory, PT Usha addressed the wrestler’s grievances raised during her campaign, where Phogat had accused Usha of failing to provide support and claimed that a photo of her taken from her hospital bed was captured without her consent.

“She was a sportsperson. She should carry the qualities of a sportsman, I am not trying to say politicians are bad but she went to the Paris Olympics for sports and we all wanted medals from her. After meeting her, we went to the World Wrestling Federation president to protest. They said, ‘rules are rules’ and after that, everything went into chaos,” Usha told IANS.

Usha was forthright in her remarks, placing the blame for the incident squarely on Phogat, asserting that it was the responsibility of her team to ensure that she maintained her weight.

“For Vinesh Phogat we had sent her all the people she had requested, four or five people accompanied her. For us, it’s new, only 100 gms, but for them it is not new. This had happened earlier as well so she should know what to do, and how to tackle it. Her team knows everything but it still happened so it is not our or our sport science doctor’s fault, it is her and her team’s fault but still, she criticises us,” Usha added.

For those unfamiliar, Phogat made history as the first Indian woman wrestler to reach an Olympic final, but her hopes were dashed when she failed to make weight the following morning, resulting in her disqualification and missing the opportunity to become India’s first female Olympic champion.

Phogat appealed her disqualification to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but her request for a joint silver medal was ultimately denied.