How US legend Jordan Burroughs has taken up the cause of supporting India's Vinesh Phogat after controversial Paris Olympics disqualification

By Shyam Kamal

Modified Aug 07, 2024 17:03 GMT

Vinesh Phogat became the center of an unexpected storm at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday (August 7), when she was disqualified from the women's 50kg freestyle wrestling final ahead of her final against the US' Sarah Hildebrandt. Phogat was in line to become the first female medal winner from India in wrestling, but now, she will have to return home empty-handed.

Phogat took on World No. 1 Yui Susaki in her opener at the Paris Games on Tuesday, and stunned the Tokyo gold medalist in incredible fashion. She then sailed through her quarterfinal and semifinal bouts to reach the final against Hildebrandt, which was scheduled for the following morning.

However, hours before her final, disaster stuck, as the IOC revealed the news that the Indian had failed the weigh-in. According to reports, Vinesh Phogat came in just a 100g overweight, despite desperate attempts to bring down her weight below 50kg by her team.

The decision did not go down well on social media among Indian fans, who could not believe that Phogat lost not only the shot at gold but also had to leave Paris without any medal.

For those unaware, Phogat, who played a massive role in the protests against Wrestling Federation of India chief's Brij Bhushan Singh last year over sexual abuse, had become a symbol of resistance in the country.

With the 29-year-old making the run to the final at Paris the very next year, a sharp contrast to images of her being dragged by police personnel in 2023 on the streets of New Delhi, Phogat transformed into a fairy tale-esque story of individuals prevailing in the face of an oppressive system.

In light of all this, the Indian's disqualification came as a body blow to fans who had become invested in her story. While it was expected that fellow Indian athletes would rally in her sport, Phogat has found a rather unlikely champion in American legend Jordan Burroughs.

Burroughs is no stranger to the Olympics, winning the 2012 gold medal in the men's 74kg category. He is also a six-time world champion, and is considered one of the greatest freestyle wrestlers of all time.

The American has now taken up the mantle when it comes to backing Vinesh Phogat, taking to social media to lament how unlucky she has been. Burroughs has repeatedly insisted that Phogat 'deserved' the silver, lamenting that what happened to the 29-year-old was nothing short of tragic.

"My goodness. I don’t think any of us can quite comprehend the future ramifications for Vinesh missing weight this morning. When she awoke today, she was India’s first ever female Olympic finalist, guaranteed at least a silver."

"Now she will be returning home medal-less. God bless her and all she’ll have to endure moving forward. She has looked amazing this week, and deserved to be on that podium today. This is tragic," Burroughs wrote.

Jordan Burroughs has also asked the IOC to reconsider their format in light of the controversy, stating that wrestling should have more than just six weight classes at the Olympics.

"Maybe stories like this will wake up the IOC. Wrestling needs MORE than six weight classes! After three tough matches against world class opponents, no athlete should have to spend the night preparing for a Gold medal in this manner. Absolute desperation from the Indian team trying to get the last bit of weight off of Vinesh to qualify for today’s final," Burroughs said.

Moreover, Burroughs has starting a rallying cry, asking that Vinesh Phogat be at least reinstated with the silver medal, which has since gone viral on social media.

"Give Vinesh silver!" Burroughs said.

Jordan Burroughs has proposed rule changes at the Olympics in light of Vinesh Phogat's controversial disqualification

Jordan Burroughs even suggested a few changes to the UWW (United World Wrestling, the governing body of freestlye wrestling) in light of the controversy with Vinesh Phogat.

For starters, Burroughs called for a 1kg tolerance in the second day weigh-in at the Olympics (currently there is none) and a later time slot in the day for the weigh-in so athletes have more time to shed any gained weight.

More importantly, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist suggested that should a wrestler be overweight ahead of the final, they should only be forfeiting that particular fight and not be stripped of the silver medal they had won already.