'Player, coach responsible for weight management': PT Usha defends IOA, blames Vinesh Phogat and her support staff for 'weigh-in' fiasco

Paris/IBNS: Ahead of the all-important Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS) verdict on Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat and her right to earn a silver medal at Paris Olympic 2024, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha on Sunday (Aug 11) pointed the finger at the Indian wrestler in response to the criticism directed towards the IOA medical, especially Chief Medical Officer Dinshaw Pardiwala, saying that in sports like wrestling, weightlifting, judo and boxing, it is the responsibility of the athletes and their support staff to maintain their weight.

IBNS • 12 Aug 2024, 11:15 am

"....the responsibility of weight management of athletes in sport like wrestling, weightlifting, boxing and judo is that of each athlete and his or her coach and not that of the IOA-appointed Chief Medical Officer Dinshaw Pardiwala and his team," PT Usha said in a statement.

"....the hate directed at the IOA medical team, especially Dr. Pardiwala, is unacceptable and worthy of condemnation," she added.

Vinesh Phogat was left heartbroken after she was disqualified ahead of her gold-medal bout in freestyle 50kg event last week for being 100gm overweight in the morning weigh-in.

Following the incident, the 29-year-old Indian grappler announced her retirement from wrestling.

A 'blame game' was started after the incident, which also led to an uproar in the Parliament, with some sections attacking IOA-appointed Chief Medical Officer Pardiwala and his team for negligence with former IOA chief Narendra Batra indicating that Vinesh Phogat's diet might have had something to do with her disqualification.

The CAS is supposed to announce the verdict on Vinesh Phogat's case on Tuesday (Aug 13).