Paris Olympics 2024: ‘We Must Protest Strongly’, Says Sunil Gavaskar On Vinesh Phogat’s Disqualification

Former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar called Vinesh Phogat's disqualification from the women's 50kg gold medal bout at the Paris Olympics "unfortunate" and expressed concern about its potential impact on the Indian contingent, while also lamenting young shuttler Lakshya Sen's early exit despite promising starts.

New Delhi: Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar reflected on wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification from the women’s 50kg gold medal bout in the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024, calling the whole incident ‘unfortunate’.

“It’s unfortunate and unfair. I do hope that the authorities will take notice of it, take a strong response to this because this is not just the initial round. We’re talking about the gold medal round and therefore, this cannot and should not be taken lying down by anybody in India — whether it’s the Indian Olympic Association or the government of India,” Gavaskar said on the sidelines of the launch of TVS Apache Spartan Race India.

Vinesh, who created history by defeating Yui Susaki who was unbeaten in her last 82 bouts. Gavaskar added, “We actually must be protesting very, very strongly about this whole issue…”

The former India captain also acknowledged that this issue might negatively impact the Indian contingent’s performance for the rest of the Games. “It can be disheartening for the whole contingent. This is where the sports persons tend to lift themselves up. This is the challenge to lift yourself over and above this and get into a winning situation. That’s what sport is all about, sport is not easy – be it cricket or football or other disciplines, it’s about overcoming the obstacles that come your way,” Gavaskar said, adding: “That’s where our athletes need to get up and win medals…”

Despite some strong performances in various disciplines, India has secured only three bronze medals so far. As a badminton fan, Gavaskar was particularly disappointed to see young shuttler Lakshya Sen exit after a promising start in both the semifinal against Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen and the bronze medal match against Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia.

“I was a bit disappointed because on both days, Lakshya had taken the lead but could not sustain it. We need to look at whether it’s more of a mental issue, even Prakash (Padukone) said he did not know why Lakshya lost,” Gavaskar said.

“Sometimes, it happens to all of us in our everyday life where you lose the train of thought. Even while playing, you can lose that trend of thought and in a fast game like badminton, if you lose for a fraction of section, the opponent fights back,” said Gavaskar, hoping that the youngster learns from his experiences and emerges as a serious gold medal contender at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.