A wrestler has been disqualified from the Olympic Games and stripped of her medal because of one brutal reason.

Wrestling might not be the most popular sport at the Olympics – from the first round to the final the event is over in 36 hours – but it looked set to give us one of the best storylines of the Paris Games.

Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat guaranteed herself a medal by reaching the final of the women’s 50kg event, winning all three of her bouts on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old had finally achieved her dream after years of close calls, bad luck and fighting abuse.

Vinesh’s road to Wednesday’s final was long and brutal.

She exited the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro in agony after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee.

Five years later in Tokyo she was far from her physical peak, suffering the after-effects of a concussion and Covid-19 and without a physio to help her through.

Over the last couple of years she has been at the forefront of Indian wrestlers’ protests against the alleged violence of Indian Wrestling Federation chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

A medal is what Vinesh deserved, but tragically, that has now been taken away from her.

On Wednesday morning, hours before her final bout with USA’s Sarah Hilderbrandt, the Indian star failed the weigh-in. She weighed 100 grams more than the permissible weight.

Under Olympic wrestling rules, wrestlers have to show weight both on the morning of the preliminary rounds and the morning of the final.

On Tuesday morning Vinesh was within the 50kg limit, but she was faced with the challenge of losing roughly 2kg overnight having refuelled following three fights in one day.

She was spotted skipping in a sweatsuit following her semi-final win, and reportedly worked through the night to try and make the limit.

According to India Today, Vinesh collapsed moments after her disqualification and was admitted to hospital due to suspected dehydration.

An Indian Olympic Association statement read: “It is with regret that the Indian contingent shares news of the disqualification of Vinesh Phogat from the Women’s Wrestling 50kg class.

“Despite the best efforts by the team through the night, she weighed in a few grams over 50kg this morning. No further comments will be made by the contingent at this time.

The Indian team requests you respect Vinesh’s privacy. It would like to focus on the competitions on hand.”