Olympic triumph to torment for Indian wrestler who led anti-sexual harassment protests

India's Vinesh Phogat, in red, wrestles Cuba's Yusneylis Guzman Lopez at the Olympic Games in Paris on August 6, 2024

An Olympic story of hope and perseverance quickly turned to one of heartbreak after an Indian wrestler known for her role in anti-sexual harassment protests was disqualified from the gold medal match of the women’s 50kg freestyle category.

Vinesh Phogat, the first Indian woman to qualify for an Olympic wrestling final, did not make the weight required to compete Wednesday morning, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said.

“Despite the best efforts by the team through the night, she weighed in a few grams over 50kg this morning,” the IOA said in a statement posted to X.

Competition rules say wrestlers must stay in their weight category on both days of the tournament. After Phogat’s disqualification, only the gold and bronze medals will be awarded in this event.

United World Wrestling, the sport’s international governing body, has yet to comment, Reuters reported.

A little over a year ago, Phogat was sleeping on the streets of New Delhi as part of an athlete-led protest calling out sexual harassment allegations within her sport.

Before the latest cruel twist of fate, she had appeared guaranteed to come away from the Paris Olympics with either a gold or silver medal in a remarkable tale of overcoming adversity.

Phogat, a three-time Olympian who comes from a prominent Indian wrestling family, was set to face Team USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt in Wednesday’s final.

Her journey had included one of the most stunning upsets of the Games so far when she beat reigning Olympic gold medalist Yui Susaki in a dramatic first-round bout.

Sasaki, who was widely touted as the best pound-for-pound freestyle wrestler in the world, had never lost a fight at the senior level and during the last Olympics in Tokyo did not even drop a point on her way to gold.

But Phogat came through with a late takedown to claim a 3-2 decision in their opening match before besting Ukraine’s Oksana Livach 7-5 and Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez 5-0 on her path to the medal podium.

Following news of her disqualification, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Phogat a “champion among champions” and “India’s pride” in a post on X.

“Today’s setback hurts. I wish words could express the sense of despair that I am experiencing. At the same time, I know that you epitomise resilience. It has always been your nature to take challenges head on,” he wrote, adding: “Come back stronger! We are all rooting for you.”

Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat is detained by police during a protest in New Delhi on May 28, 2023. Arun Thakur/AFP/Getty Images/File

‘Lioness of India’

In India, Phogat and her fellow wrestlers have become the very public face of an ongoing protest movement that has created global headlines and sparked a fierce #MeToo debate.

She and other top wrestlers camped for weeks last year demanding action on sexual harassment claims made against the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).

In January 2023, Phogat and other leading wrestlers wrote to the head of the Indian Olympic Association in a letter posted to X, demanding an inquiry into claims of sexual harassment by Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is also a powerful politician from India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

In the letter, Phogat said had been “mentally harassed and tortured” by Singh after she missed out on a medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

The athletes then took to the streets to demand Singh’s dismissal, but paused their protests after India’s sports ministry said it would investigate.

But after months went by with little apparent action, Phogat and the other wrestlers took to the streets again, camping out for weeks in protests that became a flashpoint of criticism against India’s ruling establishment and ended in bitter clashes with police.

“We’re Olympians, gold medalists, world champions,” Phogat told CNN from the protest site last year. “There’s been a grave injustice. We’ve dedicated (our lives) to our country.”

Dramatic images showed Phogat, her sister and fellow wrestler Sangeeta Phogat, and Sakshi Malik – who won bronze in 2016 in the 58 kg category – being dragged by officers. The wrestlers were detained but later released.

In the days after, some of the wrestlers vowed to throw their Olympic medals in the Ganges river, the country’s sacred waterway.

“These medals decorating our necks no longer mean anything,” the athletes said in a statement. “What is the point of life when you compromise on dignity?”

From right: Indian wrestlers Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia speak during a candlelight vigil to protest the sport's local federation chief, over allegations of sexual harassment, in New Delhi on May 23, 2023. Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images/File

In June, Delhi police charged Singh with assault, stalking and sexual harassment. He has denied all allegations against him.

Before her disqualification, Phogat’s fellow wrestlers hailed her journey to the final as both a personal and collective triumph for India’s wrestling community who have long complained that authorities failed to take their allegations seriously.

“Vinesh Phogat is the lioness of India who won back-to-back matches today,” Bajrang Punia, who won bronze in Tokyo and was also a leading figure in the protests, wrote on X.

“This girl was kicked and crushed in her own country. This girl was dragged on the streets in her country. This girl is going to conquer the world but she lost to the system in this country.”