World Wrestling Championships 2025: Paris Olympic Medallist Aman Sehrawat Disqualified For Being Overweight

Paris Olympic medallist Aman Sehrawat was disqualified on Sunday, September 14, from the World Wrestling Championships 2025 in Zagreb after officials found him to be overweight. This incident, an embarrassing development for the Indian contingent, saw the freestyle wrestler weigh 1.7kg above the 57kg category limit, significantly affecting India's prospects at the prestigious tournament.

22-year-old Aman Sehrawat, who trains at the renowned Chhattrasal stadium, exceeded his 57kg weight category limit by 1.7kg during the official weigh-in for the World Wrestling Championships.

United World Wrestling (UWW) regulations, updated in 2023, permit a 2kg weight tolerance for events such as the World Cup, UWW Ranking Series tournaments, and other international competitions. World Championships and Olympic Games, however, do not allow such a provision.

"It's unfortunate and surprising that Aman could not maintain his weight. He was overweight by 1700 grams when he stood on the weight scale," a source within the Indian contingent told PTI. "This is not acceptable, actually. How did he get so much extra weight is beyond us."

Aman had arrived in Zagreb, Croatia, on August 25 for acclimatisation and a training camp, which gave him roughly 20 days to manage his weight effectively.

As per an Indian Express report, Aman had fallen ill with a fever during the camp prior to the weigh-in, which reportedly hindered his ability to cut weight and participate in the competition. "He couldn’t cut weight as he was not well. He had fever the night before, and that is why he didn’t go for the weigh-in," his coach Lalit Prasad was quoted in the report.

Second Indian Disqualification At World Wrestling Championships

This marks the second disqualification involving an Indian wrestler at a World Wrestling Championships in less than a month. Earlier in August, Neha Sangwan (women's 59kg) was ousted from the U20 Worlds in Samokov, Bulgaria, after weighing 600 grams more than the permissible limit.

Following this, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) not only dropped Neha from the senior World Championship squad but also suspended her for two years due to her "consistent weight management issues".

Aman’s situation represents the first overweight incident involving a star Indian player since Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification from the Paris 2025 Olympics. Phogat was found 100g over the 50kg limit hours before her women's 50kg final bout.

A coach with the Indian contingent highlighted the financial burden, telling PTI, "The government has spent at least 7-8 lakh on each wrestler selected for the World Championship in Zagreb." The coach further noted, "The stay expense was at least €140 during the two-week training camp, and it's €200 during the tournament."

"It is the wrestler's responsibility to maintain weight. There has to be some explanation. Almost 2kg more than the permissible weight is unbelievable," he added.

WFI's Potential Action Against Aman

The Wrestling Federation of India's response to Aman Sehrawat's disqualification remains uncertain. It is unclear if WFI will impose punishment similar to Neha Sangwan's suspension or if they will let him off due to his star status.

Aman has competed in only one international tournament since he won bronze at the Paris Olympics last year. He secured a bronze medal at the Ulaanbaatar Open in June this year, having lost to Mexico's Roman Bravo-Young in the semifinals before defeating Turkiye's Bekir Keser in the bronze play-off bout.

(With PTI Inputs)