Final Verdict On Vinesh Phogat's Olympic Plea Postponed Until Aug 16
In a major development, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has extended its deadline to announce a decision on Vinesh Phogat's plea regarding her disqualification from the Paris Olympics until August 16, 9:30 PM (IST). The announcement was originally expected today, August 13, by 9:30 PM, following an earlier delay. This extension means the final verdict will now be awaited for three more days.
Earlier also, the verdict was postponed by 72 hours as Sole Arbitrator Dr. Annabelle Bennett from Australia requested additional time to review more evidence before delivering her decision. Dr. Bennett conducted a three-hour session on Saturday, hearing arguments from all parties involved, including the applicant Vinesh Phogat, respondents United World Wrestling, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) as an interested party.
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Disqualification from the Gold Medal Match
Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the women’s 50kg gold medal match on August 7 after being found 100 grams overweight during the official weigh-in. Despite attempting to reduce her weight after gaining 2.7 kg following the opening bouts on August 6, Vinesh was unable to bring her weight down to the required 50 kg limit.
Appeal and Consequences
Vinesh initially appealed to be allowed to compete in the final, but the IOC had already disqualified her and announced that Guzman Yusneylys, who had lost to Vinesh in the semi-final, would compete against the USA’s Sarah Hilderbrandt in the gold medal match. Sarah Hilderbrandt ultimately won the gold medal on August 7.
