Security breach: wrestler Panghal removed from Olympic campaign
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Paris: India might have had the worst Wednesday at an Olympics this week. On Wednesday, two wrestlers and a lifter stopped their Paris Olympics 2024 campaigns. When wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified just a victory away from gold, lifter Mirabai Chanu bowed out of the campaign missing a medal, and now, finally, wrestler Antim Panghal was removed from the Game for a security breach after she gave her sister the Olympic Village accreditation.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has now decided to fly wrestler Antim and her support staff back home after the disciplinary breach was brought to its notice by the French authorities.
According to a complaint by the French authorities, Antim's sister was trying to impersonate her and get into the Athletes Village using the wrestler's accreditation card.
The security staff at the Athletes Village detained her, and Antim was called for a statement.
Antim represented the country in the women's 53kg weight class and lost her pre-quarterfinal bout 0-10 to Turkey's Zeynep Yetgh on Wednesday.
Antim initially claimed that everything was settled and that she would get her accreditation back soon.
"I will get my accreditation soon, and my sister will be released in a few minutes," an emotional Antim Panghal told IANS.
However, the IOA seems to have taken serious note of this breach of security and protocol and has decided to send the wrestler and her support staff back to the country before the end of the Games.
According to sources, Antim had asked her sister to collect her belongings from the Athletes Village and bring them to the hotel where her coach and sister were staying.