Harish Salve to represent Vinesh Phogat, Olympic medal verdict out today

Paris Olympics 2024: The CAS for Sport in its preliminary assessment recognised the validity of Phogat's request for a joint silver medal in the women's 50 kg wrestling category

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is set to hear Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s appeal against her disqualification from the Paris Olympics today, August 9. In her plea, Phogat is also seeking to be awarded a joint silver medal after being disqualified for being overweight following her semi-final victory in Paris.

Senior advocate Haris Salve has agreed to represent Phogat at the CAS hearing. The Indian delegation is working diligently to secure top legal counsel for Phogat ahead of the hearing, which is scheduled for 9 am Paris time (12.30 PM IST), as reported by ANI.

The case will be heard by an ad hoc committee led by Michael Lenard from the United States. This committee was specifically established in Paris to address cases during the Olympics and is based within the Paris judicial court in the 17th arrondissement.

 

An interim ruling is reportedly expected around an hour after the hearing concludes. This development is a substantial boost for both Phogat and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), as the CAS, in its preliminary assessment on Thursday (August 8), recognised the validity of Phogat’s request for a joint silver medal in the women’s 50 kg wrestling category.

According to espn.in, Phogat’s appeal is based on the following arguments:

>Phogat successfully passed the weigh-in and won three bouts on August 6, which qualified her for the final.

>After the bouts, she required proper nutrition to hydrate and recover, which led to a weight gain necessary for recovery, not an unfair advantage.

Phogat’s Olympic disqualification

Phogat’s disqualification occurred just hours before her scheduled gold-medal match against Sarah Ann Hildebrandt of the USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She failed the weigh-in, exceeding the limit by 100 grams, according to media reports, which led to her being barred from the podium despite securing at least a silver by becoming the first Indian female wrestler to reach an Olympic final.

Following her disqualification, Phogat immediately appealed to CAS, requesting to be allowed to compete in the gold medal bout. While her initial appeal was denied, her subsequent plea for a joint silver medal is now being considered.

Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, whom Phogat defeated in the semi-finals, was promoted to the final, where she lost 0-3 to Hildebrandt, who became the fourth American woman to win a wrestling gold medal.

Desperate attempts to cut weight

Meanwhile, Phogat was devastated by her disqualification. Neither the pleas from IOA officials and her coaches nor extreme measures like cutting her hair, staying up all night, and limiting her water intake for over 12 hours could change the outcome. The United World Wrestling (UWW) enforced its rule that requires wrestlers to stay within the weight limit during the weigh-in on the morning of each match day. When Phogat exceeded the limit, she was disqualified and lost her chance at a medal.

It’s important to note that Phogat won her first three bouts on August 6 with a weight of 49.9 kg during the morning weigh-in. However, the physical demands of the bouts made it impossible for her to go without food or water, leading to an unintentional weight gain of 2.7 kg.

Following the disqualification, the star wrestler subsequently announced her retirement following the disqualification.

Since wrestling became a two-day event at the Olympics, with medal matches on the second day, it has been mandatory for wrestlers to pass a weigh-in on each day. Phogat, unfortunately, did not meet the requirements on the second day.