Social media posts misleadingly claim Indian wrestler eliminated from tournament after 0-10 loss

The Facebook post was published on July 16 here with a caption that reads: "Sangeeta Phogat lost the tournament 0-10".

"There's no surprise now as to why these wrestlers want a direct entry into the Olympics. It's because of such type of athletes that talent dies," the Hindi-language post goes on to say. "All athletes should excel in their career owing to their talent."

The post surfaced after Phogat and other Indian professional wrestlers joined months-long protests demanding the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh -- the Wrestling Federation of India's president and a lawmaker belonging to the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party -- who has been accused of sexual harassment, stalking and intimidation (archived link).

Singh was charged and released on bail without arrest on conditions that he cannot leave India without prior permission, influence witnesses or tamper with evidence (archived link).

Phogat -- along with fellow wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat -- were detained by police in May as they tried to march towards India's new parliament building as it was being inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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A screenshot of the misleading post taken on July 24, 2023

Other posts claiming Phogat lost the tournament after the 0-10 defeat were also shared here and here on Facebook; and here and here on Twitter, which is being rebranded as "X".

However, the claim was shared in a misleading context. While Phogat lost the first round of the tournament 0-10, she defeated subsequent opponents to win the bronze medal.

Bronze medal

According to records of the Budapest Ranking Series tournament published by United World Wrestling, Phogat was defeated by US wrestler Jennifer Page Rogers 0-10 in the first round (archived link). But Phogat defeated her opponents in subsequent rounds and won the bronze medal.

Indian news agency ANI also reported on July 16 that Phogat was the winner at the tournament's bronze medal match (archived link).

"This win marks her return to the mat on a commendable note by winning the bronze play-off by 6-2 against the crowd's favourite Hungarian, Viktoria Borsos, who is the U-20 World Championship silver medallist," the report reads.

Several news outlets also reported on the win here and here (archived links here and here).

Phogat posted a picture of her standing on the podium beside other medalists and wrote in Hindi: "I have received your congratulatory messages. I am overwhelmed right now (archived link).

"Many thanks to all of you. This medal is not mine only, they belong to you. I dedicate this medal to all the fighting women of the world who are battling against crimes against women."

AFP has debunked previous false claims made against Phogat and other wrestlers who protested against Singh here, here and here.

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