Controversial? Gulshan Devaiah on Vinesh Phogat's silver medal - ‘It would be unfair to...’

The country has been feeling the pain of wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who was recently disqualified from her final Olympic match for being 100 grams overweight. After Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan and others extended their support to Vinesh, Uljah actor Gulshan Devaiah has a different view. He feels that giving Vinesh a silver medal would be unfair for those athletes who were disqualified for the same reason.

Emotionally I hope an appeal is accepted & Vinesh is awarded the Silver but I also feel it’s unfair on every other athlete who’s been disqualified earlier under the same circumstances. I’m deciding to accept it and move on but it’s not really about how I feel. This must be… pic.twitter.com/679wzTnxAX

— “SuperGullu” (@gulshandevaiah) August 8, 2024

Gulshan Devaiah on Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification

On X (formerly Twitter), Gulshan shared a picture of Vinesh and said that he feels that giving Vinesh a silver medal would be unjust to all the other athletes who were disqualified on the same grounds. He wrote, “Emotionally I hope an appeal is accepted & Vinesh is awarded the Silver but I also feel it’s unfair on every other athlete who’s been disqualified earlier under the same circumstances. I’m deciding to accept it and move on but it’s not really about how I feel."

He added, “This must be unimaginable devastating on Vinesh & her team. As a fellow Indian, I say thank you champ!!! Be Well.”

Responding to this, a user commented, “Just to know, when was the last time a player was disqualified like this in the finals?” To this, Gulshan replied, “I don’t know. As much as i want her to win, get our appeal accepted, I’d want it to be on fair grounds. I’m no expert on this field or claim to have stats stacked in my inbox. I’m her fellow Indian who’s upset with this situation & also wanting this to be fair because I don’t want anyone questioning her win if the appeal is accepted (I hope it is & I hope our officials are making a strong case) More importantly i hope she’s ok with this unfortunate situation. The pressure and disappointment is unimaginable to us.”

Vinesh Phogat announces retirement

After being disqualified for being overweight for her final Olympic match, Vinesh announced her retirement on social media and wrote, "Ma, wrestling has won, I have lost. Please forgive me, your dreams and my courage, everything is broken. I don't have any more strength now. Goodbye wrestling 2001-2024. I shall be indebted to you all. Forgive (me)."