Vinesh Phogat's Plea For Silver Medal Accepted By CAS; IOA Approaches Harish Salve

The Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) accepted Vinesh Phogat's request for a joint silver medal in the women's 50kg wrestling event at the Paris Olympics.

The Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) is expected to start the hearing for Vinesh Phogat's appeal at around 9:30 am Paris time, which is 1 pm IST on August 9 (Friday). The interim verdict is anticipated about an hour later. This development is significant for Vinesh Phogat and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), as the CAS, in its initial assessment on Thursday, found merit in Vinesh's request for a joint silver medal in the women's 50kg wrestling event and accepted it.

Vinesh Phogat Disqualified From Olympic Final Due To Weigh-In Failure

Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the Paris Olympics 2024 just hours before her gold medal match against Sarah Ann Hildebrandt of the USA. The Indian wrestler failed the weigh-in process by being 100 grams overweight. Although she had secured at least a silver by becoming the first Indian female wrestler to reach an Olympic final, she was stripped of her podium finish.

Cuba's Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who lost to Vinesh Phogat in the semi-finals, was moved up to the final. However, Guzman lost to Sarah Ann Hildebrandt 0-3, making Hildebrandt the fourth US woman to win a wrestling gold medal.

Vinesh Phogat was devastated by her disqualification. Despite pleas from IOA officials and her coaches, and desperate efforts like cutting her hair, staying up all night, and drinking the bare minimum for over 12 hours, she couldn't achieve the required weight. United World Wrestling (UWW) enforced its rules, which require wrestlers to be within the weight category limit at the weigh-in on each match day. When Vinesh was found to be overweight, she was disqualified and lost her chance at a medal.

Phogat appealed to CAS

Vinesh and the IOA had no option but to appeal to the CAS. Their initial appeal against her disqualification from the final aimed to allow Vinesh to compete for the gold medal, but it was rejected. However, the CAS accepted her second plea, granting her a joint silver medal.

Vinesh won her first three matches on August 6 fairly and squarely. During the weigh-in that morning, she was 49.9 kg. However, as her intense matches continued, it was impossible for her to go without food or water. Even minimal intake led to an unexpected weight gain of 2.7 kg. Since wrestling became a two-day event at the Games, with medal matches on the second day, every wrestler must pass the weigh-in each day.

The IOA has appointed Harish Salve to represent Vinesh Phogat at the CAS. According to media reports, CAS requested that Vinesh appoint lawyers for the Friday hearing, and the IOA contacted Harish Salve, the former Solicitor General of India, to represent both the IOA and Vinesh at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

In its initial legal argument, the IOA claimed that Vinesh's 100 gm excess weight was "extremely negligible" and due to "bloating," which did not give her any weight advantage.

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