2024 was an exceptionally eventful year for Indian sport. At the end of the year, ESPN India picks ten images that tell the story of the most stunning moments we witnessed in the last 12 months. Our third pick is a moment that will live long in Indian sporting history – Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification from the 2024 Paris Olympics.
You remember the feeling. You may not want to, but you do.
On the morning of August 7, 2024, you, the Indian sports fan, woke up with a light heart and a bounce in your step. You’d seen magic just yesterday. Vinesh Phogat had done the impossible — against all odds, she was in an Olympic final. She’d fought the system en-route Paris, and yesterday she’d only gone and taken down the unbeatable champion Yui Susaki. 82-0? Nah, 82-1. You knew all about how much she had suffered: on the streets in her fight against the almighty system, in Olympics past where injuries had dealt her cruel blows, and yet her she was. The first Indian woman to make a wrestling final. You had never felt goosebumps of that kind before. The adrenaline that had coursed through you when you saw her beat Susaki was still going full pelt, the blood was still pumping hard through your veins as you opened your eyes, ready for the final, ready for Vinesh Phogat to do what she seemed destined to do…
…and then you read the news.
“Vinesh Phogat disqualified from Paris Olympics after failing to make weight, will lose medal.”
On first read, it felt like someone had punched you in the gut.
Most of us follow sport to escape the mundanity of our daily lives, to live vicariously through these elite athletes, to lean on the borrowed pride of their triumphs, but occasionally — if you get in deep enough – sport has the habit of throwing in a gut punch, a proper low blow. You might have had your fair share following different sports, different sportspersons, but this was something else. This felt like a ton of bricks, like someone had taken that I-love-sports mantra of yours, ground it to fine dust and scattered it in the wind.
The headline made no sense. Not the way it landed, just as you were skipping along the day, ready for an early lunch break, setting aside everything to make sure you’d be free for the final. Failing to make weight? Lose medal?
As the day wore on, and the details came through (‘~100 grams… surely not?’) and the cold fact sunk in, you found ways to cope — stopped watching the Games (atleast for a bit), sought relief in conspiracy theories, penned tributes on social media to Vinesh. Life continued to life, though, and here we are in December. You’ve forgotten about it; you’ve tried to. But look inside for just a minute and you’ll know… you remember the feeling. You may not want to, but you do.