‘Too many risks’: Women wrestlers encouraged to wean away from last-day fast weight loss | Sport-others News

At any wrestling championships, the common sight is of athletes in raincoats running rounds of indoor mats on eve of competition. Most of them are also fasting. Wrestlers cramming last-minute sweating, dehydrating and starving to force-fit into their weight categories isn’t something new. But is it healthy?
Dr Samuel Pullinger, head of Sports Science at JSW’s Inspire Institute of Sport training centre at Vijayanagar in Karnataka, is trying to wean away the centre’s women wrestlers from this punishing pre weigh-in regime. Often considered a heroic struggle which it is and fairly global, the basis of the practice however is unhealthy.
Having noticed a constant stream of Anterior Cruciate Ligament knee injuries and rash of ligament tears, he has now insed there would be no more sauna and wet suits-facilitated melting of weight.
“There were too many risks, the ACL and other serious injury count was high after too much weight was suddenly dropped and that offset any other power advantage. I decided to initiate them into gradual weight loss in the weeks preceding with help from coaches and nutritions and Strength & Conditioning trainers, and dragging them away from malpractices that have set in to make weight,” Pullinger tells The Indian Express.
Dr Samuel Pullinger is trying to wean away the centre’s women wrestlers from this punishing pre weigh-in regime. (Express photo)
Wrestlers typically build muscle in the leadup to competition and maintain weight that’s 4-5 kg more than their official weight category, before embarking on an unhealthy crash weight loss ahead of competitions. The unscientific practice relies on them loading up till the last possible day, and then spending a couple of days before competition eating and drinking nothing or very minimal. Melting weight in saunas or in wet suits and going berserk on treadmills is not unknown.
It might even have yielded success for both men and women, as they leverage their muscle power compensating for dipping energy. But the effects of repeatedly doing this – for trials and competitions – can prove dire for women wrestlers.
Even once can be bad enough if it weakens the knee joint making it vulnerable.
Nineteen -year-old women’s wrestler Hansaben Rathore recalls extreme starving, days ahead of competition before 2019 when she reached IIS. “Till recently, I would aim at losing even 5-6 kg overnight restricting food and with heavy duty exercise. Not even 100ml of water was allowed. But I realised, while I sailed through Round 1 and 2, the time it was the third or fourth bout and important medal rounds, I was collapsing with no energy,” she tells this newspaper.
It can prove to be the difference between settling for bronze, and having the capacity to fight for gold.
Hansaben Rathore recalls extreme starving, days ahead of competition before 2019 when she reached IIS. (Special Arrangement)
“Now, after regulating weight for weeks ahead, I leave only the last 500 gms or 1-2 kg which is water-based loss for the last day. I don’t stop eating. I’m focussed and relaxed and not energy deprived for medal bouts,” says the 57kg wrestler.
Pullinger has put in place a program where wrestlers’ weights are recorded every two days. And food intake is carefully monitored without compromising on health from two months before competition.

“It needs a lot of control because metabolism fluctuates. But the weight isn’t lost drastically. Oil, butter, wheat goes down in days leading up to competition. It’s grilled chicken instead of chicken curry and things like that. And there’s good food, fluid and supplementation after weigh-ins,” says the PhD from the UK, an English-French national, who was born in Belgium.
Pullinger inss the new practices will make training more sustainable. “Using science and prioritizing health, we are aiming at not just any medals, but gold medals for women wrestlers.”