Paris 2024 Olympics: Vinesh Phogat disqualified, Cuban wrestler Guzman Lopez named replacement for 50kg final
Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who lost to Vinesh Phogat in the 50kg women’s freestyle wrestling semifinals, has been named as the Indian’s replacement for the gold medal bout after Vinesh was disqualified for failing to make the weight cut on Wednesday.
Vinesh had defeated Guzman Lopez 5-0 to become the first female Indian wrestler to reach the Olympic final. However, on the day of her gold medal bout, Vinesh missed the weight cut by a little over 100 grams during the weigh-in, leading to her disqualification.
“Vinesh failed second day weigh-in. According to the arcticle 11 of the International Wrestling Rules, Vinesh will be replaced by the wrestler who lost against her in the Semifinal. Therefore Yusneylis Guzman Lopez (Cuba) will compete in the Final,” said the organisers in an official statement.
The statement further mentioned that the repechage bout between the top-seeded Japanese wrestler Yui Susaki, who lost her first-ever international bout to Vinesh in the opening round, and Ukraine’s Oksana Livach, who suffered a 5-7 defeat against the Indian in the quarterfinals, will now be a bronze medal match.