‘This Will Wake up the IOC’: Olympic Champion Jordan Burroughs Lashes at IOC Over Vinesh Phogat

Vinesh Phogat's unfortunate disqualification has caused an outrage as she was in line for the final which could have assured her and the Indian contingent a medal. Phogat's exit has caused a major uproar as she was one of the biggest medal hopes for India. The Indian grappler took every possible step to ensure that she stays within the stipulated weight limit, but her efforts did not reap desired results. After Phoghat's unexpected exit, Olympic gold medalist and six time world champion Jordan Burroughs, has expressed his opinion on Vinesh's situation and is seemingly frustrated with the IOC and how the wrestling weight-categories function.

Also Read: Could India have withdrawn Vinesh Phogat citing injury and secured a silver medal at Paris Olympics?

Olympic Gold Medalist backs Vinesh Phogat, expresses frustration over IOC 

Jordan Burroughs spoke out in support of Vinesh Phogat, who had to undertake some extreme steps to ensure her participation in the finals of the Women's 50kg Freestyle Event at the Paris Olympics. Burroughs pointed out the need for more weight classes in the sport and criticized that no athlete should be preparing for a gold medal match the way Vinesh had done.

"Maybe stories like this will wake up the IOC. Wrestling needs MORE than six weight classes! After three tough matches against world class opponents, no athlete should have to spend the night preparing for a Gold medal in this manner. Absolute desperation from the Indian team trying to get the last bit of weight off of Vinesh to qualify for today’s final," Jordan Burroughs tweeted on 'X', formerly Twitter.

Also Read: Heart Breaking and Shattering: Vinesh Phogat’s First Photo After Olympic Disqualification

Vinesh Phogat had taken down defending champion Yui Susaki of Japan in pre quarters and later went on to defeat Ukraine's Oksana Livach in her initial two bouts. The Indian grappler later defeated Cuba's Yuznelys Guzman to earn a spot in the finals. Phogat was scheduled to lock horns with USA's Sarah Ann Hildebrandt in the medal event. Vinesh had scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the gold medal bout in her category. Before this morning, she was assured of at least a silver medal but will now be coming back empty-handed due to the disqualification.

(With PTI Inputs)