Vinesh Phogat's CAS Appeal: A 'Loophole' That Could Help Her Get Silver Medal

Vinesh Phogat's Paris Olympics campaign started like a dream but turned into a nightmare after she was disqualified, but the wrestler decided to challenge the result at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The final verdict is expected to come today, it has also been reported that the United World Wrestling (UWW) is opposing the plea made by Vinesh citing it being against the rules.

There are certain loopholes in UWW's rulebook which can very easily be exploited by Vinesh to turn the verdict in her favour so that she can get her silver medal.

Also Read: Court Of Arbitration For Sport To Give Verdict On Vinesh Phogat’s Silver Medal Appeal Today

The 'Loophole':

The UWW rules state that, the person who claims the repechage is the one who loses to the finalist. One of the incidents which turned out to be an exception was the 50kg wrestling final, Yui Susaki of Japan was given an opportunity to fight for the bronze medal in the repechage rounds. But according to the rules, Vinesh is not the finalist as she was disqualified from the gold medal match  after being 100 grams over-weight. Hence, the final was played between Yusneylys Guzman of Cuba and Sarah Hildebrandt of USA. So the question that arises is, how was Susaki allowed to play the repechage? If rules were to be followed the Susaki also shouldn't have been allowed.

While the loophole seems to be a golden hope for Vinesh, all eyes will be on the CAS verdict that will be coming out today.