The teens at the Young Writer's Club debated over the verdict that sent Indian Competitive Wrestler, Vinesh Phogat, home without any medal.
Just as any other athlete competing at the Olympics, Vinesh Phogat dreamt of winning the gold. She was so close to achieving her dream but got disqualified in the finals round as she was 100gms overweight in the category she was participating. The Indian Sports Association appealed to the Olympics Committee to consider awarding her a joint silver medal but the final verdict dismissed the appeal.
She was to participate in the 50kg category finals match but on the day of the match she was 100gms overweight and hence disqualified. She was well within the permissible limit when the competition began. She won three gruelling matches after which, she gained a little weight. That is said to be common in the sport. She had gained about 2kgs which she managed to lose before the finals match. Yet, she exceeded the limit by 100gms and hence was disqualified. Her previous wins were said to be null and void. That led to an appeal which was dismissed.
Reactions to the news
Needless to say, everyone present for the discussion, felt for Vinesh Phogat and could relate to how horrible it must have felt to be so close to the gold medal after so much hard work over years, only to return home with no medal at all.
“Was the verdict fair?”
Initial reactions
Unfair
“There should have been some sort of a recognition. After all, she managed to go upto the finals.”
“What sort of recognition?”
“A certificate or a small trophy conveying recognition perhaps.”
“Something is wrong. Perhaps the result is rigged. Do we know if the weight was really excess? Who measured the weight? Could there be something fishy there?”
Opposing argument:
“It is not likely to be rigged. Olympics is a global event. One incident of rigging could disrupt the whole event- it is way too risky as every participating country would raise an opposition.”
“How about keeping a buffer of 500gms +”
Opposing arguments:
“Who determines that a buffer of 500gms is fair, nothing more?”
“As Indians, it is natural for us to clamor support in favor of Vinesh Phogot and come down hard on the final verdict. However, if we take a step back and try to take an unbiased view, the picture is likely to look different.
weight adds to the strength and that could explain the strict adherence to a given weight specification.
Had this been another country’s champion contesting, we would not bat an eyelid. We would have turned a blind eye or we would have argued, ‘rules are rules for a reason.’ "
“It is like an election. Candidates sometimes lose an election over a very small margin. Can we argue that there should be a buffer for the margin so that the candidate stands a second chance? It defeats the purpose of democracy and infact weakens it. Consider this historical example. When Louis the XVI got cornered during the French Revolution, the people decided to vote to determine if he must be beheaded. The minimum votes needed was 361. It was a question of a man’s life here. Had there been a margin set, the whole concept of democracy would have lost its meaning. Voting system is meant to be fair and hence any relaxation would demean the concept. Similarly rules at a global competitive event are meant to be strictly complied with to ensure fairness. ”
Opposing arguments from the news that helped bring to the forefront an even bigger picture.
Jordan Chiles, an American gymnast was stripped of her bronze medal. She was in 5th position. Her coach appealed saying that she deserved the 3rd position as her routine was more complex. She was subsequently awarded the bronze medal only to be told to return it later. The reason was that the appeal was 4 seconds late! Someone would want a small time gap to be excused. Another would want a 200 or so gms added as buffer weight. This sort of leniency could be extended across sports thus making such a hugely competitive sports event, redundant.
Considering a revision in point of view
As difficult it was to accept the verdict when we first started the discussion, in the end, it was hard not to take the big picture into account. We agreed that while it must have been absolutely devastating for Vinesh Phogat who has decided to stop wrestling and retire, the rules are in place for a reason. They were known already. Fighting for a favorable verdict was clearly a game of chance. A ‘What if’ scenario.
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