Paris: The Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris on Wednesday felt the tremors of the Vinesh Phogat jolt. Akuh Purity, Nigeria’s female wrestling coach, had never seen anything like this with an athlete going for a medal at a stage like the Olympics. “Because this is the big stage,” he said. “For Vinesh, it is really hard.”

With the surprise came the sense of having the need to relook at the rules by the United World Wrestling (UWW), the sports’ global governing body. Two weigh-ins across two days, with no room to accommodate, was a bit too challenging, especially for women competing in categories way below their natural weight, felt some coaches.

Jordan Burroughs, the 2012 London Games gold medallist American wrestler, echoed the sentiment on social media. Writing on X urging Vinesh to be handed the silver medal, he proposed some key changes in the rules laid down by the world body. Among them was a 1kg weight allowance for the second day of weigh-in, and timings pushed to 8.30am extending until 10.30am.

The UWW rulebook states that in some international tournaments like the World Cup, a 2kg weight tolerance can be granted. At the Olympics, however, there is no scope for that -- or even an excess of 100g for that matter.

“For athletes who have gone through very vigorous exercises, and coming back to make the same weight, a 2kg allowance would have been the perfect due for the next day,” Purity said.

Nenad Lalovic, the UWW president, ruled out any possibility of a relook at the laws for now, saying any kind of leeway could set a tricky precedent.

“Today, if you allow 100 grams, tomorrow it will be another 100 grams. Rules are in place for a reason. Otherwise, it would be anarchy, mess,” he said.

Evangelia Nikolaou, the Greece coach, felt it was especially dangerous for women to shed their weight twice in two days for successive weigh-ins. “It’s very dangerous. It’s a big problem for women, controlling the weight. For me, maybe one control is okay. Two control for women, (is) a big problem,” she said, adding she felt extremely sorry for Vinesh.

Bouts spread across two days in a single weight category at events like the Olympics were part of UWW’s major changes to international wrestling in 2017, seemingly to discourage wrestlers shedding weight drastically leading into the previous single-day competition format. Lalovic insisted they would remain that way despite concerns about controlling weight for two weigh-in days.

“We have to be more strict on this,” he said. “We are seeing that wrestlers are losing too much weight and that is not good for them. Many see what happens in the moment but they don’t see what happens in the future. We want athletes to compete in the natural weight.”

Nikolaou said the entire process across the two days, for wrestlers who eventually make it to the second day of the competition, can be too demanding. Even more so for women. “No food. No drink. It is very draining,” she said.

It is through this gruelling process that coaches and the support staff of these top wrestlers have to remain on their toes, especially from going from the first day to the second fighting for medals at the Olympics.

“When you know you’re in the finals, you do everything possible,” Purity said. “Like, if I was in this (India’s) shoe, I don’t think I was going to sleep. Because every time she (Vinesh) will be sleeping, I have to be watching her. You have to make sure that everything is as perfect as it needs to be.”

Antim blown away

Around the debate was some more despair creeping in from an Indian viewpoint. Antim Panghal, India’s third wrestler in action at the Olympics on Wednesday, was blown away by Turkey’s Zeynep Yetgil 10-0.

Stunned by the flash in which it all ended, Antim left the mat in tears. “This entire Vinesh episode has had an impact on the overall morale of the contingent. You look at the body language of Antim today and the way she performed,” India’s national wrestling team coach Virender Singh Dahiya said.

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