Vinesh Phogat gets major boost, plea for silver medal accepted by CAS; IOA contacts Harish Salve to fight their case
Vinesh Phogat's plea for a joint silver medal in women's 50kg wrestling at the Paris Olympics was accepted by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).
The hearing for Vinesh Phogat's appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) is likely to begin around 9:30 am Paris time, which is around 1 pm IST on August 9 (Friday). The interim verdict can be expected about an hour later. This comes as a major shot in the arm for Vinesh Phogat and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) as the CAS, in its early assessment on Thursday, saw merit in Vinesh's plea of demanding a joint silver medal in the women's 50kg wrestling and accepted it.
Vinesh was disqualified from the Paris Olympics 2024 hours before her gold-medal bout against Sarah Ann Hildebrandt of the USA. The Indian wrestler did not pass the weigh-in process and was found 100gm overweight. She was stripped of a podium finish despite ensuring at least a silver after becoming the first Indian female wrestler to enter an Olympic final.
Cuba's Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who was beaten by Vinesh in the semi-finals, was elevated to the final. Guzman, however, lost to Hildebrandt 0-3 as she became the fourth US woman to win a wrestling gold medal.
Vinesh, on the other hand, was left shattered. No amount of pleading from the IOA officials and her coaches was enough. Even desperate measures like cutting her hair, going sleepless all night, and drinking the bare minimum for more than 12 hours did not yield the desired results. The United World Wrestling (UWW) followed its rules, which make it mandatory for every wrestler to be within the permissible limit of the respective weight category during the weigh-in on the morning of each match day. When Vinesh was found overweight, she was disqualified and stripped of medal chances.
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Vinesh and IOA had no choice but to appeal to the CAS. Their first appeal was against the disqualification from the final. Vinesh wanted the CAS to intervene and allow her to fight for the gold medal, which was rejected, but the Indian wrestler's second plea to give her the joint-silver medal was accepted.
Notably, Vinesh won her first three bouts on August 6, fair and square. She weighed 49.9 kgs on Tuesday morning during the weigh-in process but as her gruelling bouts went on, it was impossible for her to starve or go without water. The bare minimum consumption resulted in an unexpected weight gain of 2.7 kgs.
Ever since wrestling became a two-day event at the Games, with the medal matches taking place on the second day, it has become mandatory for every wrestler to pass the weigh-in on each day. Vinesh failed the second day's weigh-in.
However, not all is lost for the 29-year-old grappler, who announced her retirement from wrestling on Thursday, stating that she has no strength left.
IOA appoints Harish Salve to fight Vinesh Phogat's case at CAS
According to media reports, the CAS asked her to appoint lawyers for the hearing on Friday. The IOA reportedly contacted the former Solicitor General of India, Harish Salve. The senior advocate is expected to represent the IOA and Vinesh at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The IOA, in its initial legal argument, has stated that the 100gm excess weight was "extremely negligible" and was a result of "bloating", which did not give Vinesh any weight advantage.
"The excess of 100g is extremely negligible (representing around 0.1 to 0.2% of the athlete’s weight) and can easily be caused by the bloating of a human body during summer weather, as the heat makes the human body retain more water, scientifically for survival purposes. It can also be due to muscle mass increase as the athlete competed three times on the same day. It can also be caused by the food consumption of the athlete after the competitions to sustain her health and integrity for the demanding competitions.
"The conditions under which she “regained” weight after her first fights clearly show that this was not a case of excess weight providing any advantage whatsoever, but merely the implementation of a classic and essential recovery process. Finally, it should be remembered that the CAS must uphold the fundamental rights of athletes, including the right to respect for their physical integrity," the legal statement read.