One meal, no water, skipping: How Vinesh Phogat tried to lose weight
After competing in three bouts and taking on plenty of fluids on Tuesday, Vinesh Phogat had put on a couple of kilos before she began the effort to lose it
Paris: In a race against time to bring the weight down within the permissible limit, Vinesh Phogat stayed up all night in the Games Village, running, skipping, and hitting the gym in her desperate attempt to shed the extra mass coming into Wednesday’s weigh-in.
After competing in three bouts through the day with plenty of fluids going inside her body, Phogat had put on a couple of kilos by the end of her last bout on Tuesday evening. She was seen skipping soon after her last bout of the day, knowing the task ahead.
She had just one meal in the night, it is learnt. And then even water was off-limits. Phogat hit the gym inside the Athletes’ Village, running, skipping, and trying every bit of cardio to trim it down. She also slipped into the sauna in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
All these desperate attempts throughout the night brought her weight down, but not enough to make the 50kg final weigh-in for which she missed it by around 100 grams. Phogat was to fight for the gold on Wednesday.
Severely dehydrated with her all-night activity and lack of water, Phogat was taken to the Village’s polyclinic soon after the morning weigh-in. She is still dehydrated and a bit unwell but fine and resting inside the Village, an official said.