'Vinesh failed to...': Yogeshwar Dutt says celebrating someone's mistake is wrong tradition in India

Olympic medalist Yogeshwar Dutt criticised wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Monday for not taking responsibility for losing a medal for the country due to her failure to manage her weight at the Paris Olympics, instead blaming others for her disqualification.

Yogeshwar, who won a bronze medal at the London Olympics, said that if he had been disqualified, he would have apologised to the entire nation. "If someone gets disqualified at the Olympics, the first thing they should do is apologise to the entire country for their mistake and for the loss of a medal. Instead, it was made out to be a conspiracy," he said while speaking at the Panchayat AajTak Haryana 2024.

Yogeshwar said he was surprised when Vinesh started spreading conspiracy theories about her Olympic disqualification. "The Prime Minister was blamed, saying there was a conspiracy to keep her away. Everyone knows that if someone is disqualified, whether it's because of a 1-gram, 10-gram, or 100-gram weight difference, the rules apply the same. A wrong atmosphere was created across the country," he continued. 

"Even after the loss of a medal for the country, a new narrative was built, claiming that something wrong had happened to Vinesh. If I were in Vinesh's place, I would have apologised to the entire country, admitting that I failed to manage my weight, and I would apologise for the loss of a medal for the country. But here, there are celebrations. The entire country is criticising the Prime Minister, and this tradition of celebrating someone's mistake is very wrong in India," he added. 

Vinesh was disqualified for being 100 grams overweight during the weigh-in on the day of her final in the Paris Olympics. The wrestler accused the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and its president, PT Usha, of failing to provide adequate legal support during her appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for a joint silver medal. Vinesh argued that the Government of India and the IOA should have taken a more proactive role in filing and supporting her case, instead of joining the process only after she had initiated it on her own.

Yogeshwar said that she created a wrong atmosphere in the country. "Even during the (wrestlers) protests, people were asked to gather in the wrong way. If we speak just about the Olympics, despite costing India a medal, a false perception was created that something wrong happened to her."

Speaking at the same event, Babita Phogat, who is in the BJP, also suggested that a false impression was created by the Congress that there was a conspiracy against Vinesh. "This (doubt) is the result of the Congress party's policy of lies. Every time, they spread lies, whether it's about reservation during the Lok Sabha elections or other issues. They distributed forms promising people money, but when people went to their offices...This is the result of their policy of lies. They think they can form a government based on falsehoods, but they don't realize how much they are cheating and being unjust to the people."

Babita said that she was also disqualified in 2012, and was punished for it. "I was disqualified, and I faced the consequences in India too, as I wasn’t even allowed to participate in the Olympic trials of 2012. I accepted my punishment because I knew it was my fault. I was disqualified due to a 200-gram weight difference," she said.

"So, I believe it is the responsibility of us athletes because in the end, it is us who have to stand on the weighing machine. Neither the coaches nor the support staff can stand in our place. Ultimately, the athlete has to step on the scale, so it’s our responsibility."

Babita said that the entire support staff of Vinesh was her personal. "The support staff did help, we can't say they didn't. the ultimate responsibility lies with the athlete.

Vinesh has joined the Congress and is contesting assembly elections from the Jat-dominated Julana seat.