'Vinesh Phogat victim of conspiracy', Cong attacks BJP after wrestler's Olympic exit

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) The disqualification of ace Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat from the Paris Olympics hours before her gold medal match for failing to meet the 50 kg weight criterion took a political turn on Wednesday with the opposition Congress hitting out at the ruling BJP, underlining the past sequence of events, including the wrestlers' protest of which Vinesh was a prominent face.   

The Congress said Vinesh did not face defeat on the wrestling mat but got trounced on the mat of conspiracy, saying the wrestler was made a political scapegoat.

"The 140-crore plus people of the country are stunned by what happened with Vinesh Phogat," Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said, adding, "Some people in power were even shying from sending out congratulatory tweets to Vinesh."

"The Sports Minister, the Prime Minister, and other big leaders were reluctant to praise her performance. Vinesh Phogat is the same woman wrestler who in 2023 raised her voice against alleged sexual and mental harassment, and called out then Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh," Surjewala said.

The Congress leader also said that Vinesh led the protests in Jantar Mantar for over 100 days during which she was also "manhandled" by the police.

"She went to the Paris Olympics to make the Indian Tricolour fly high. Within seven hours, she won the pre-quarterfinal, quarterfinal, and semifinal by defeating some of the world's best women wrestlers.

"In the contemporary era, no such instance of a player getting qualified for weighing 100 gm more than the required bodyweight has been witnessed. What was the Wrestling Federation of India doing in Paris? Was it trying to make her win the medal or snatch it? What was the Sports Minister doing," Surjewala asked.

The Congress leader also claimed that even as Vinesh's bodyweight was within the required scale on Tuesday, "what might have happened during the second round of weighing that her bodyweight suddenly spiked by 100 gm?"

"Was there any issue with Vinesh securing a medal," the Congress leader questioned.

"The nation wants to know who are those individuals who could not digest Vinesh Phogat's victory. There were morale-boosting tweets for the Indian hockey team after the heartbreak they faced (in the semifinal loss to Germany on Tuesday), but why no tweets for an athlete who secured three victories in a day? However, consolatory tweets began pouring in soon after she was declared disqualified," Surjewala said.

"When such instances happen with athletes of other countries, their governments step in and make all efforts to get medals for their athletes. But the Indian Olympic Association and the Central government only offered consolation. If the Prime Minister can stop the war between Russia and Ukraine, why can't he provide justice to Vinesh," the Congress leader questioned.