New Delhi, Aug 7: Indian boxing stalwart Vijender Singh has alleged that wrestler Vinesh Phogat's disqualification from the Olympics final might be a case of sabotage as elite athletes like her are well-versed with the techniques of cutting weight before major competitions.

Vijender, who is India's first and only male boxer to have won an Olympic medal, knows a thing or two about maintaining weight before major bouts and he said it is shocking that Vinesh (50kg) was 100gm over in the weigh-in before an Olympic final.

"I think it might be sabotage. 100gm, you have got to be kidding me. We athletes can shed 5 to 6kg overnight. It is difficult no doubt but we know how to control our hunger, thirst, and exert to the extreme," the middle-weight (75kg) boxer told PTI.

"And when I say sabotage I mean people who are not happy to see India rise as a sporting nation. This girl has been through so much, your heart breaks for her. What more could she have done? Which other test?" he wondered.

Vinesh was the face of a lengthy protest against former Wrestling Federation of India head Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment and intimidation by women wrestlers. She had endured police detention, nights on the streets and a tumultus qualification process before making it here.

The highlight of her remarkable performance at the Olympics was the opening win over defending champion Yui Susaki of Japan who came into the competition undefeated in her international career.

"I can't believe that Vinesh would make a mistake like this. She has been an elite athlete for so long that she knows, there has to be something more to it. I am worried for her, I hope she is fine. What has happened is not good at all," said Vijender, a trailblazer in Indian boxing.

Athletes who compete in contact sports, where fights are held as per weight categories, have to go through the painful process of staying within their divisions.

It involves going hungry for hours, avoiding even liquids and in some desperate situations, stay huddled inside layers of blankets to sweat out the extra weight.

"There have been times when I have spat out saliva continuously so that nothing goes inside, you know. One can't imagine this extreme exercise. There are special Sauna suits that we wear, they feel like a furnace and there are times we run wearing them to shed weight," he explained.

It's an extraordinary exercise that takes a physical and mental toll on athletes and in 2018, six-time world champion woman boxer M C Mary Kom, in an interview to PTI, had revealed how she lost 2kg in a matter of four hours.

Mary Kom had landed in Poland for a tournament, where she eventually picked up her third gold of that year. But hours before she was to take the ring, she had gone through the strenuous process of shedding weight just to be eligible to fight.

"We landed in Poland at round 3-3:30 in the morning and the general weigh-in was at around 7:30am. I was a couple of kilograms above 48kg, the category I compete in, at that point," she had said.

"So, I had roughly four hours to shed that or I would have been disqualified for being over-weight at the time of general weigh-in. But I did skipping for an hour at a stretch and just like that, I was ready.

"Thankfully, the flight we travelled in was nearly empty so I could sleep with my legs outstretched, ensuring that I was not stiff on landing there. Otherwise, I don't know how I would have been able to compete," she had revealed.

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Ayodhya (UP), Feb 8 (PTI): BJP candidate Chandrabhanu Paswan on Saturday won the Milkipur bypolls by a margin of 61,710 votes, according to the Election Commission website.

While Paswan, 38, polled over 1.46 lakh votes, his nearest rival Samajwadi Party's Ajit Prasad, 42, garnered 84,687 votes, it said.

After 31 rounds of counting, Paswan with 1,46,397 votes registered a win.

With the BJP winning the Milkipur (SC) seat, all five assembly segments of the Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency are in the BJP's kitty.

The other assembly segments are Rudauli, Bikapur and Ayodhya in Ayodhya district and Rudauli assembly segment of Barabanki district.

Milkipur was the only seat the BJP lost in Ayodhya district in the 2022 Assembly polls.

Santosh Kumar of the Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) stood a distant third and got 5,459 votes.

The Milkipur bypoll was necessitated after local MLA Awadhesh Prasad vacated the seat following his Faizabad win in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The SP fielded his son Ajit Prasad in the bypoll even as the BJP opted for a party cadre Paswan, both from the Pasi community.

While the SP was anxious to retain the seat it won in the 2022 UP polls, the BJP was anxious to avenge its Faizabad loss that had happened within five months of the high-profile consecration of Ram temple at Ayodhya.

The BSP did not contest the bypoll while the Congress backed its alliance partner SP.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath congratulated party workers for the "historic victory" of the BJP in the Milkipur bypoll.

In a post on X in Hindi, Adityanath said, "Heartiest congratulations to all the dedicated party officials and hard-working workers for the historic victory of Bharatiya Janata Party in the byelection of Milkipur Legislative Assembly seat!"

"This victory is a symbol of the unwavering faith of the common people in the public welfare policies of the 'Double Engine BJP government' led by Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the UP government dedicated to service, security and good governance," he said.

"Congratulations to the winning candidate Chandrabhanu Paswan and hearty greetings to the people of Milkipur Assembly constituency who gave their votes to the development journey and good governance of Uttar Pradesh! Jai Shri Ram!" the CM said.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya in a post on X, said, "Hearty congratulations to the newly elected Hon'ble MLA of BJP Shri Chandrabhanu Paswan ji along with the national and state leadership on the massive victory of BJP in the Milkipur Assembly byelection-2025 in Uttar Pradesh and best wishes for a bright tenure."

"This victory is a result of the BJP government's poor welfare schemes, the working style of the organisation and the people's unwavering faith in Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi," Maurya said.

Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak also congratulated the party's winning candidate on his "historic" win.

UP BJP chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary too congratulated Paswan on his "comprehensive win".

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on the other hand accused the BJP of "misusing" the electoral machinery to win elections.

"The true victory of PDA (Picchda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) in Ayodhya in the Lok Sabha elections is many times greater than their false victory in the Milkipur Assembly and will always be so," Yadav said in a post on X.

"The BJP cannot face the growing power of PDA based on votes, which is why it tries to win by misusing the electoral machinery. The level of manipulation of officials required to carry out such electoral fraud may be possible in one assembly constituency but this 'chaar sau beesee' (apparently referring to cheating) will not work in 403 assembly constituencies," Yadav said.

He claimed that the BJP members also know this which is why they postponed the Milkipur bypoll.

"This is a false victory which the BJP will never be able to celebrate if they look into their own eyes in the mirror. Their guilt and the fear of future defeat will keep them awake," Yadav said.