Vinesh Phogat’s coach Woller Akos Recalls Scary Details on Wrestler’s Weight-Cutting Process

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In a Facebook post, Vinesh Phogat's coach Woller Akos revealed that he thought the wrestler might die during her grueling weight-cutting process a night prior to her gold medal bout. The Facebook post was taken down, according to the Indian Express.

Notably, Vinesh Phogat was found 2.7 kg of excess weight after her semi-final bout in the 50 kg category at the Paris Olympics 2024. With her final bout scheduled the next day, she had to lose and come under the permissible limit to stay eligible to play.

Unfortunately, at the time of the weigh-ins, Phogat was found 100 grams overweight and she was officially disqualified from the final bout. Woller Akos detailed the struggles the Indian wrestler faced in her efforts to lose weight.

From intense exercises and sauna sessions to cardio workouts and practising various wrestling moves, Vinesh Phogat tried everything to cut weight and stay within the permissible limit the night before the gold medal bout.

"After the semi-final, 2.7 kg of excess weight was left; we exercised for one hour and twenty minutes, but 1.5 kg still remained. Later, after 50 minutes of sauna, not a drop of sweat appeared on her.

There was no choice left, and from midnight to 5:30 in the morning, she worked on different cardio machines and wrestling moves, about three-quarters of an hour at one go, with two to three minutes of rest. Then she started again. She collapsed, but somehow we got her up, and she spent an hour in the sauna. I don't intentionally write dramatic details, but I only remember thinking that she might die," Woller Akos wrote.

'Medals and podiums are just objects' - Vinesh Phogat told her coach

Woller Akos went on to write that upon returning from the hospital, Vinesh Phogat told him that she had defeated the World No.1 wrestler Yui Susaki of Japan and she had achieved her goal. She also added that their gameplan worked, medals are just objects and nobody can take away her performance.

"We had an interesting conversation that night, returning from the hospital. Vinesh Phogat said, 'Coach, don't be sad because you told me that if I find myself in any difficult situation and need extra energy, I should think that I beat the best woman wrestler (Japan's Yui Susaki) in the world. I achieved my goal, I proved that I am one of the best in the world. We have proved that the game plans work. Medals, and podiums are just objects. Performance cannot be taken away'," Akos added.

"We will still be proud of the fact that our professional programme could lead to beating the best woman wrestler in the world and take an Indian woman wrestler to the Olympic final for the first time in history," he wrote. Interestingly, Yui Susaki's defeat against Vinesh Phogat was her first loss in her international wrestling career.

It's worth noting that Vinesh Phogat made two appeals in front of CAS after her disqualification. While the first one was to let her compete in the final bout, the second was to be awarded a joint silver medal with Guzman Lopez from Cuba. However, CAS rejected both pleas from the Indian wrestler.

India managed to bag only one bronze medal in wrestling at the Paris Olympics 2024. Aman Sehrawat, who was part of the men's 57 kg freestyle category, defeated Puerto Rico's Darian Cruz by 13-5 to secure the bronze medal.