Tokyo Olympics: WFI suspends Vinesh Phogat for indiscipline, notice issued to Sonam for misconduct

[Gollum]

On 8/13/2021 at 12:44 PM, rkt.india said:

Maybe it was that. Maybe it was the blood pressure. Maybe the weight cut. I’m used to salt capsules. They helped a lot. But they did not work in Tokyo where I was alone.

 

I was reducing weight. I was my own physio and I was the wrestler. I was assigned a physio from the shooting team. She did not understand my body. My sport has very specific demands. She couldn’t help me with what my regular physio used to. Last day, when I am reducing weight, am I supposed to explain things to her on how things are done in wrestling, or focus on myself? It’s unfair on both of us.

 

On the day of the bout, I was not getting the feel. After the weight cut, I warmed up, I still didn’t feel it.

 

I had not eaten the day before the bout. I drank some nutrition but I felt anxious. I woke up with a feeling of vomiting but I could not. I was in pain. There was nothing in my body. Ultimately I did vomit. On the bus ride to the stadium, I called Purnima (my physio) asking her desperately what I could do.

 

After my first bout, I took a salt capsule. Nothing improved so I took one more. No change. I could not eat anything because I was nauseous and felt like vomiting. I did some breathing exercises but to no effect. I was not feeling in control. I was shivering.

No response from WFI? What is this nonsense? 

[Gollum]

Tokyo Olympics: WFI got its numbers wrong for coaches, physios

 

Quote

Not only did the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) overshoot its quota of a maximum 33 per cent support staff allotted for their seven competitors at the Tokyo Olympics, the number of coaches was also skewed in favour of the male grapplers.

While the three men’s freestyle wrestlers at Tokyo were allotted six coaches, the 4-women team had just one head coach. WFI could not find space for Poornima Raman Ngomdir, Vinesh Phogat’s physio, despite the 53kg wrestler being a medal contender.

Brajesh Kumar went as the physio for the male wrestlers.

Indian men’s freestyle wrestlers won two medals at Tokyo, while Vinesh was left ruing a missed chance, even as her desperate plea for her personal physio – voiced a week before her competition day – went unheeded.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA), who allotted the accreditations for the support staff, said it was the wrestling federation’s (NSF) prerogative to choose its staff to go to Tokyo, and they were helpless if Poornima’s name wasn’t submitted in the long list.

“The name should be there in the long list else the process becomes very long. There is provision even if someone falls sick, for instance. But if you say we haven’t given the name in the long list because we forgot… there were names of three or four physios in wrestling. One physio went from that list,” IOA president Narinder Batra told The Indian Express.

It has been learnt that the names verbally requested and forwarded in writing in the ‘long list’ in March, did not include Poornima’s, despite Vinesh – a Commonwealth Games-Asiad gold medallist and World Championship bronze winner – expected to be on the podium.

The long list had to be submitted in advance to the Tokyo Olympic Organising Committee, and no one outside of that, could rustle up a last-minute accreditation. “WFI’s early communication was verbal, they didn’t clarify in writing about the long list so Vinesh was in the dark that the physio wasn’t even penned in,” a source close to the development, said.

Skewed support

Male wrestlers Ravi Dahiya, Bajrang Punia and Deepak Punia had a robust support staff of three foreign coaches – Kamal Malikov, Gaidarov Murad and Emzarios Bentinidis besides Indians Jagmander Singh, Anil Maan and Rajeev Tomar. The three women – Seema Bisla, Anshu and Sonam – were under head coach Kuldeep Singh, while Vinesh’s Hungarian coach Woller Akos was drafted in for her bouts. The women, except Vinesh, two of whom were coming off injuries, had no dedicated physio.

Batra said that the final shortlist was forwarded by IOA on July 5, and they had no say in the unpruned one either. “The long list has to come from the NSF, we cannot do anything for that,” he said.

When told of seven wrestlers qualifying, Batra confirmed: “So you have entitlement of 3 coaches…”

WFI secretary Vinod Tomar, who went to Tokyo as ‘Team Leader’ had told The Indian Express earlier, “At an international event where a team goes, the federation doesn’t send a personal physio. For an event like the Olympics, we need accreditation. The number of players who qualify, we get only 33 percent of that for support staff. Vinesh wanted her physio, but it would not be possible to send every wrestler’s personal physio and coach.”

Eventually 9 support staff for 7 wrestlers was 128 percent, not 33 percent.

WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan did not respond to messages or calls.

When asked if the prioritising of male wrestlers and ignoring Vinesh’s request smacked of gender discrimination, Batra said, “I disagree. For IOA or NSFs, gender has never been an issue. Whoever has qualified has gone. It’s factually and totally incorrect.”

 

[ShoonyaSifar]

Time for the Supreme lords to take suo moto cognizance of WFI's dictatorial ways. Let a Vinod Rai or Ramchandra Guha lead the CoA for wrestling. They are not needed to run BCCI but to help the other sports bodies run professionally. But guess there isn't enough malai in non-cricketing sports for these sports enthusiasts for them to be interested

[rkt.india]

https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE4MjQ2ODcxNDk1MDU4NDAz?story_media_id=2640601383343396056_4042402671&utm_medium=copy_link

 

Is that Vinesh in this clip.

 

[Vijy]

6 hours ago, Gollum said:

Sportspersons have come back after far greater setbacks. 

 

Thomas Muster became world #1, won a French Open after almost losing his 'normal' life under the wheels of a drunk driver. Doctors said his professional career was over, well what do they know? For 6 months the Austrian warrior practiced like this. 

 

 

Defector Viktor Korchnoi qualified to a WCC final against world champion (and darling of Kremlin) Anatoly Karpov when his wife and son were held hostage in a labor camp in USSR.

 

More recently Helen Maroulis (Merican wrestler) won bronze in Tokyo, 3 years back her career was most certainly over after a series of concussions, brain trauma, PTSD.

 

Vinesh can do it, and I hope she does. Color of medal doesn't matter, but a wrestler of that calibre should retire with an Olympic medal in her kitty. 

 

But as you said, sports politics in Bharat Desh Mahan is an issue, our wrestling federation doesn't cover itself in glory looking at its track record. 

 

Neeraj Chopra has come out in support of Vinesh, which is good. Hope more bigwigs join in. 

I agree it can be done. However, I am skeptical (as I wrote) of our federation politics. they really seem to have the knives out for her (maybe because of dangal and related popularity).

[sandeep]

On 8/11/2021 at 1:31 AM, Trichromatic said:

 

Ok, they are corrupt, inept and arrogant and whatever they claim could be false.

 

But why there has to be other side of story behind refuse official sponsor?

 

If you agree that the rest of the 'whining' story is suspect, why are you so eager to focus on this one thing? 

[Vijy]

11 hours ago, ShoonyaSifar said:

Time for the Supreme lords to take suo moto cognizance of WFI's dictatorial ways. Let a Vinod Rai or Ramchandra Guha lead the CoA for wrestling. They are not needed to run BCCI but to help the other sports bodies run professionally. But guess there isn't enough malai in non-cricketing sports for these sports enthusiasts for them to be interested

For a moment, I thought you wanted Guha to wrestle himself; that thought is pretty funny.