'I Only Remember Thinking She May Die'

'From midnight to 5:30 in the morning, she worked on different cardio machines and wrestling moves, about three-quarters of an hour at one go, with two-three minutes of rest.'

'Then she started again. She collapsed, but somehow we got her up.'

Vinesh Phogat's coach Woller Akos has painted a harrowing picture of the Indian wrestler's desperate bid to make weight for the Paris Olympics final.

In a now-deleted social media post, Akos revealed that Vinesh endured a gruelling five-and-a-half-hour ordeal, during which he feared for her life.

The 29-year-old grappler was ultimately disqualified from the gold medal match for being slightly overweight, dashing her hopes of an Olympic medal. Despite the heartbreaking outcome, Akos praised Vinesh's unwavering determination and resilience.

The Hungarian coach described the extreme measures taken to shed the excess weight, including intense exercise, sauna sessions, and a near-collapse.

'After the semi-final, 2.7 kg of excess weight was left; we exercised for one hour and twenty minutes, but 1.5 kg still remained. Later, after 50 minutes of sauna, not a drop of sweat appeared on her.

'There was no choice left, and from midnight to 5:30 in the morning, she worked on different cardio machines and wrestling moves, about three-quarters of an hour at one go, with two-three minutes of rest.

'Then she started again. She collapsed, but somehow we got her up, and she spent an hour in the sauna. I don't intentionally write dramatic details, but I only remember thinking that she might die.'

Vinesh remained focused on her performance, emphasising the importance of reaching the final.

'We had an interesting conversation that night, returning from the hospital. Vinesh said, "Coach don't be sad because you told me that if I find myself in any difficult situation and need extra energy, I should think that I beat the best woman wrestler (Japan's Yui Susaki) in the world"," Akos recalled.

'"I achieved my goal, I proved that l am one of the best in the world. We have proved that the gameplans work. Medals, podiums are just objects. Performance cannot be taken away',' Akos added.

To emphasise Vinesh's unwavering determination for Olympic glory, Akos also highlighted their protest against the Wrestling Federation of India, where she and fellow wrestlers had immersed their medals in the Ganga.

'Vinesh had pleaded with Sakshi (Malik) and Bajrang (Punia) to not put their hard-earned Olympic medals in the river. She begged them to keep those because they were special. But they explained to her that the journey was important and their performance was not defined by medals.

'We will still be proud of the fact that our professional programme could lead to beating the best woman wrestler in the world,' Ajos noted, 'and take an Indian woman wrestler to the Olympic final for the first time in history.'