Sports enthusiasts across the country were met with disappointment on Wednesday morning as star wrestler Vinesh Phogat, a gold medal hopeful, was disqualified from the finals of the Paris 2024 Olympics. Phogat was set to compete against Ann Hildebrandt of the United States in the women’s 50 kg wrestling final. However, a sudden weight gain led to her disqualification. Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala worked tirelessly to help ace wrestler Vinesh Phogat lose weight.
| Name: | Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala |
| Profession: | Director, Arthroscopy, Sports Orthopaedics & Shoulder Service and Head, Centre for Sports Medicine |
| Department: | Bone & Joint/Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine, Minimal Access Surgery, Regenerative Medicine |
| Education: | MBBS, MS(Orthopaedics), DNB(Orthopaedics), FCPS |
| Years of Practice: | 22 Years |
| Gender: | Male |
| Languages Spoken: | Hindi, English, Gujarati & Marathi |
On Tuesday morning, Phogat weighed in at 49.90 kg, allowing her to participate in the first match of the day. After securing victories in three bouts, including the semi-final, her weight surged to approximately 52.7 kg, resulting in disqualification.
The night before the final, Phogat struggled to sleep as a team of experts worked tirelessly to help her meet the weight requirements. In an attempt to address the issue, the Indian wrestling camp enlisted the help of Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, a prominent sports orthopedic surgeon.
According to Dr. Pardiwala, wrestlers often participate in a weight category lower than their natural weight to gain an advantage over opponents. “Calculated weight cuts are done to make the category weight. It involves sweating, achieved with sauna and exercise,” Pardiwala said in a video statement along with IOA president, P.T. Usha.
Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala is a well-regarded figure in sports medicine. He recently performed surgery on wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and has previously worked with notable cricketers such as Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja. With 22 years of experience, he currently serves as the Director of Arthroscopy and Shoulder Service at Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai and was honored with the ICOS John Joyce Award in 2009 for his contributions to arthroscopic surgery.