Court Of Arbitration For Sport To Give Verdict On Vinesh Phogat's Silver Medal Appeal Today
Vinesh Phogat's fate at the Paris Olympics will be decided on Tuesday. The ad-hoc division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will be issuing a verdict on the disqualification of Indian wrestler after being 100 grams over-weight in her final gold medal match.
Dr. Annabelle Bennett, the arbitrator in the case was supposed to give a decision as the games ended, the closing ceremony was held on Sunday but requested for more time after the hearing on Friday. Granting the request CAS said the time limit can be extended “in exceptional circumstances”. The key decision will be given on Tuesday but the detailed reasoning will be provided later.
Vinesh took the United World Wrestling (UWW) and International Olympic Committee (IOC) to court for completely rejecting the results of all the matches leaving her with no medal. The Indian Olympuc Association (IOA) is also a part of the case and will be defending itself in court.
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PT Usha also condemned the "unacceptable" criticism and "hate" towards Dr. Dinshaw Paridwala, IOA's Medical Officer of the games.
Usha said “that the responsibility of weight management of athletes in sports like wrestling, weightlifting, boxing and judo is that of each athlete and his or her coach”, the IOA statement read, and not the IOA or Dr. Pardiwala and his team."
Dr. Pardiwala took prompt action upon being informed of the issue and remarked on the day of Vinesh’s disqualification that her team was "confident" the weight cut could be accomplished. He further noted that they "tried all possible drastic measure throughout the night," but ultimately fell short.
Dr. Pardiwala highlighted the roughly one-hour drive between the Champ-de-Mars Arena, where the wrestling venue is located, and the Athletes’ Village as one of the challenges,“by the transport system provided by the Olympic organisers”
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Senior advocates for India Harish Salve and Vidushpat Singhania provided assistance during Friday's hearing. They mentioned that the hour-long distance between the wrestling venue and the Athletes Village contributed to the delay in weight cut process.
Both IOC President Thomas Bach and UWW head Nenad Lalovic have expressed concerns, questioning where the line would be drawn if allowances were made for a 100-gram difference.
Going further an argument was also brought up whether there would be any leeway provided in meeting the weight requirements at the weigh-in in the other international tournaments. Many coaches have expressed a concern about women having to shed weight twice in such events and relaxation can be provided on the second day. Lalovic said that they've to take a relook at the rules and if needed certain changes can be made but not retrospectively.
