When boxing icon Mary Kom reduced 2 kgs in 4 hours to win gold at Polish Open
Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification from the Paris Olympics 2024 for not meeting the 50kg weight requirement is a stark reminder of what athletes and their bodies must endure to fit into their weight categories. Phogat’s experience also reminded us of Indian boxing icon Mary Kom’s tryst with time to reduce two kgs in four hours at the 2018 Silesian Open Boxing Tournament in Poland.
Vinesh Phogat's disqualification from the Paris Olympics 2024 for not meeting the 50kg weight requirement is a stark reminder of what athletes and their bodies must endure to fit into their weight categories. The physical and mental exhaustion is at unbelievably high levels. Phogat had little to no water, food, and sleep in an attempt to reduce her weight, yet she did not reach the required number.
Phogat's experience also reminded us of Indian boxing icon Mary Kom's tryst with time to reduce two kgs in four hours at the 2018 Silesian Open Boxing Tournament in Poland. Hours before the required weigh-in for the final, Kom's weight was a little above the required 48 kgs and she would have been disqualified for the same. The Olympic bronze medallist had four hours to get her weight back to 48 kgs.
"We landed in Poland at around 3:30 in the morning, and the general weigh-in was at around 7:30 a.m. At that point, I was a couple of kilograms above 48kg, the category I compete in," Kom told PTI back in 2018. "So, I had roughly four hours to shed that, or I would have been disqualified for being overweight at the time of general weigh-in."
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"But I did skipping for an hour at a stretch, and just like that, I was ready," the five-time world champion added. "Thankfully, the flight we traveled in was nearly empty so I could sleep with my legs stretched, ensuring that I was not stiff on landing there. I don't know how I would have been able to compete."
Kom went on to win gold at the tournament.
Unfortunately for Phogat, who had to endure similar conditions before her weigh-in, the time wasn't enough, and she was shy of just 100 gms. The United World Wrestling rules dictate that if an athlete "does not attend or fails the weigh-in (the 1st or the 2nd weigh-in), he/she will be eliminated from the competition and ranked last without rank."
Phogat has since then received medical help due to dehydration from not having enough water in a bid to reduce her weight. She announced her retirement on Thursday morning.
