Should have apologised to country, not cry conspiracy: Yogeshwar Dutt takes swipe at Vinesh Phogat

Vinesh Phogat was deprived of a sure medal at Paris Games after being found to be overweight in her category on the morning of the finals.

The row over Vinesh Phogat being disqualified from the finals of Paris Olympics, which deprived her a sure medal, refuses to die.

The latest salvo was fired by 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt, who in in a recent interaction at a show 'Panchayat AajTak Haryana 2024' - criticised Vinesh and called her disqualification from the Paris Games as the "right call".

"She was disqualified from the Olympic Games, she should have apologised in front of the entire nation, saying that she made mistakes. But instead, she termed it a conspiracy, even blaming the Prime Minister of the country. Everyone knows that the disqualification was the right call. They disqualify athletes even if the weight is more by a gram," said Yogeshwar.

The 41-year-old who had joined BJP in 2019, did not stop there and went on to blame Vinesh for her role in in the the wrestlers' protest held in New Delhi last year against former Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

"She created a wrong atmosphere in the country. Even during the 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. If I was in Vinesh's place, I would've apologised to the country," he added.

The 30-year-old had reached the final of Paris Olympics in the women’s 50kg final after stunning reigning Pan American Games champion Yusneylis Guzman of Cuba in the semifinals.

But on the morning of her final bout against the USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt, Vinesh was disqualified from the Games for failing to meet the weigh-in criteria.

The wrestling community and the entire country had been in a state of shock over Vinesh's disqualification for the finals after being found to be overweight in the category and though it has been more than a month since the faux paus happened, there has been not a single day when the issue has not become a subject for open discussion, especially with Vinesh having taken the plunge into politics and deciding to contest the Haryana Assembly election from Julana seat.