NEW DELHI: USA wrestling legend Jordan Burroughs has come out in strong support of Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who was disqualified from the women's freestyle 50kg wrestling final at the Paris Olympics for being slightly over the weight limit during her weigh-in on Wednesday morning.
Vinesh was set to compete against the USA's Sarah Hildebrandt in a bid for a historic gold medal after she became the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the Olympic final.
However, following her disqualification, she will be placed last according to United World Wrestling (UWW) rules.
However, this didn't sit well with Burroughs, who called for changes to UWW rules, arguing that finalists should still secure their medal even if they miss the weight on Day 2.
Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia and Rio Games bronze medal winner Sakshi Malik also supported Burroughs' call for awarding Vinesh the silver medal after her disqualification.
Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who had lost to Vinesh in the semifinals, replaced her in the Olympic final of the 50kg category.
Vinesh's campaign began with a stunning victory over World No. 1, Japan's four-time World Champion and Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Yui Susaki, who had remained undefeated in 82 international matches throughout her career.
She then advanced to her maiden Olympic semifinal after defeating Ukraine's Oksana Vasylivna Livach 7-5 in her second bout of the day.
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