Sometimes the opponent looks blurred because your eyes can't focus," she says. In a process of fine margins, even the slightest variable can wreck plans. That's what happened to Seema Bisla at the Asian Olympic qualifiers in April this year.

Flight disruptions caused by the pandemic meant the Indian team would reach Almaty on the day of the competition. This meant that rather than recover quickly, Seema, who normally weighs about 56kg, had to bring her weight down to 50kg and then maintain it for two days.

It was a terrible situation to be in, and it showed. I didn't even know where I was. I was trying my percent in each bout but my body just wasn't responding.

My heart was saying 'yes, I can do it', but neither my mind nor my body was supporting me," she says. There can be more serious issues too. If you cut weight too drastically, you will end up having kidney issues in the long term, says Dr Kumar.

An article published in Medicia - the peer reviewed scientific journal published by the Lithuanian University of health sciences, in May this year, declared that creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and urine-specific gravity values were significantly increased after Rapid Water Loss RWL.

This observation indicates that RWL caused dehydration and subsequent acute kidney damage despite various degrees of weight lost during the RWL phase, which can lead to adverse events in other body systems. The article concluded that RWL 'is associated with significant acute kidney damage in combat sport athletes.

It seems that elevated biomarkers of kidney function can be primarily attributed to intentional dehydration, which is the culprit of rapid weight loss. At least one Indian Asian medallist has had to be admitted to the hospital in recent years for kidney issues caused by weight cuts.

For women athletes, hormonal changes can occur. Sometimes even death can occur. In , three USA collegiate wrestlers made national headlines, dying from the same cause - weight cutting within 33 days of each other.

In all three cases, the students experienced dehydration resulting in hypothermia after they layered on clothes and did endless workouts in heated rooms. Unfortunately, they out-worked their bodies. The perspiration they produced cooled them to the point of hypothermia resulting in heart attacks and kidney failure, all common effects of extreme weight cutting.

There is also a serious risk of injury during competition - something that's happened to several athletes, including at the Olympics. You aren't seeing it but you know it.

But that properception depends on blood flow. So when you are dehydrated, that properception will not be accurate. That causes delayed reaction. So, when your joint is being pulled in one direction, you have a delayed reaction in pulling back if you are dehydrated. By the time you react to the stimulus, your joint has already moved beyond what it is capable of and you pick up an injury.

For some athletes the advantage of forcing their bodies to a lighter weight division eventually isn't worth it. Boxing's Vikas Krishan Yadav used to compete in the 60kg division, but after a particularly brutal weight cut sent him to the hospital, he has refused to even attempt curtailing his weight since - he moved up to the 69kg and subsequently 75kg division.

He's now competing in the 69kg division once again - a process that he manages simply through heavier training. Vinesh too made the decision to move up to the 53kg division, after realising the cut to 50kg was having too much of an impact on performance. Others don't have that option.

Ravi Dahiya's Instagram handle is RaviDahiya60 - a hint of what he considers his ideal competition weight. But there isn't any 60kg division at the Olympics.

So I had to bring my weight down. I still consider myself lucky that there's at least a 57kg division. In the past there used to be a 55kg division and there was no way I would have been able to make that weight," says Dahiya who is unlikely to stay in the category for much longer after the Olympics.

Bisla too wasn't always in the 50kg division. Indeed, her ideal weight class would have been the women's 53kg category. Once Vinesh decided she was moving up, there was no option for Bisla but to make her way down.

That was how it had been for Anshu Malik too. I always knew that eventually I had to compete in this but the first time I brought it down I recall thinking, I'm never doing this again, whatever happens, just carry me to the mat and get it over with," she says.

But Anshu has made several weight cuts since that first time and even though it never gets any easier, she's more than willing to put herself through it.

While a bad weight cut is a painful experience, when done correctly it puts the athlete at an advantage. Weight loss is another mindset, and when we go to the competition, it's a different mindset.

We just think somehow I have to get the weight down but finally the goal is to get a medal. When you are really struggling, you remember how good food and water taste.

But then I remember the feeling of winning a medal. That is probably the great feeling for me. When I think of what it would feel to wear a medal on the podium, it all seems worth it," she says. Ultimately, the gms you could win - the weight of an Olympic medal - compensates for all the weight you've lost, all the agony you've been through.

Skip to main content Skip to navigation. Throughout the evolution of wrestling, wrestling has become more accessible for any athlete to compete in and find success in, but to accomplish this many physical and psychological concerns were created as well. These concerns led to many changes within how the NCAA handles weight loss within wrestling.

However, throughout all the struggles, concerns and boundaries that are presented within wrestling. Wrestling helps foster many important life lessons within their athletes.

Through proper education, coaching and support, an athlete can overcome all the challenges that are in the sport of wrestling. Allowing them to be better prepared for the struggles that they will face in the real world.

Allen, T. Prevention of Heat Exhaustion: Focus on Wrestling. International Journal of Wrestling Science, 10 2 , Finn, K. Effects of carbohydrate refeeding on physiological responses and psychological and physical performance following acute weight reduction in collegiate wrestlers.

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 18 2 , Fry, A. Fleck, S. Physiological and performance responses to tournament wrestling. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 33 8 , Hanley, R. NCAA rules panel announces changes for wrestler weights. Chicago Tribune , pp. Ransone, J.

Endocrine biomarker responses during an intercollegiate wrestling season. Rutkowska, K. Emotional intelligence and the sense of efficiency of coaching and instructing in wrestling. PJST, 19 1 , Weinberg, R.

Foundations of sport and exercise psychology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. A study done one seven wrestlers and three judo athletes, was able to find a key factor in how to make weight-cutting both safe and non-impactful on performance.

There were two weight loss time periods that each athlete would go through, one being a healthy caloric restriction and the other being the typical fluid loss method used by many wrestlers Fogelholm, With this evidence, we can safely assume that while not exceeding more than five percent of weight change in a three week period, wrestlers can prevent any negative consequences of their weight management.

Managing weight will always be a part of the sport of wrestling. To ensure that wrestlers are losing weight in a healthy fashion over time and not through dangerous methods, there must be an intervention.

The problem lies with properly educating coaches about what they should be recommending towards their wrestlers. Weissinger, In order for a coach to properly give their wrestlers advice about weight management, they must inform themselves over the topics of nutrition and healthy weight loss.

Not only that, they need to correct dangerous behavior before it can lead to permanent damage. By having the correct education and proper monitoring of their athletes, coaches can ensure their safety and assist in moderate weight loss over time.

In the current era of wrestling, weight classes play a large role in the sport. When you join a team, the starting lineup can be anywhere from twenty-two in middle school, all the way down the ten starters for a college program.

With the limited spots and the higher caliber of athletes as you progress in the sport, a hard decision must be made as to where a wrestler will force their body to go. Cutting weight will most likely always have a standing in the sport, as some coaches and wrestlers think it is the better decision to wrestle at a lower weight than they walk around at.

With the current guidelines and organizations in place, the sport of wrestling has become safer as to the life risked when cutting weight, athletes need to consider how their weight loss can affect their performance.

Dropping an excessive amount of weight can cause a wrestler to have poor physical reactions outside of the sport. Instead of dropping the excessive amount that may hinder their performance and cause negative side effects, an athlete should be endorsed to find a middle ground where they can feel bigger, faster, stronger while not actually preventing them from competing at their best.

After all, why would any athlete want to train in such a grueling sport, just to leave a card off the table? Brown, F. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC.

Hyperthermia and dehydration-related deaths associated with intentional rapid weight loss in three collegiate wrestlers--North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Michigan, November-December Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report , 47 6 , —8.