“CAS referee said…”: On the date of Vinesh Phogat’s Olympic silver verdict, the lawyer says the following

Vinesh Phogat’s hearing in Paris at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is over. The Indian wrestling star appealed to CAS after being disqualified from the 50kg wrestling final at the Paris Olympics for being 100 grams overweight. Earlier, Vinesh was assured of a silver medal after entering the 5okg final with three convincing wins, but disqualification saw her finish outside the medal bracket. Although Vinesh was within the permitted weight limit on the first day of competition, on the second day she was 100 grams overweight and was excluded from the Olympic wrestling final.

Vinesh turned to CAS, an international body set up in 1984 to resolve sports-related disputes through arbitration, for a shared silver. The appeal hearing took place on Friday and lasted three hours in Paris.

Vinesh, represented by four French lawyers, was present virtually at the hearing. Lawyers Haris Salve and Vidushpat Singhania, representing the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), were also present. United World Wrestling (UWW) also had its lawyer at the hearing. UWW referees and technical directors were present at the hearing.

Dr Annabelle Bennett AC SC (AUS) was the sole CAS arbitrator. She listened to both sides’ arguments patiently. Vinesh’s lawyers argued that the fighter’s disqualification was not correct. The CAS said there is an operational procedure that is taking time, but added that the verdict will be given soon.

Singhania told NDTV that he was confident of a positive result. “We were the IOA lawyers. Harish Salve was leading the argument and I was helping him. To a large extent, all the arguments were heard,” he told NDTV.

“The CAS arbitrator said I will give the operational rules order soon. The detailed reasoning will be released later. The hearing went well. Vinesh’s lawyer’s basic request was that she be given the silver medal.”

Earlier, CAS released a statement on Vinesh Phogat.

CAS statement on Vinesh Phogat’s appeal:

“A request was lodged with the Ad hoc Division of the CAS at 16:45 CEST on 7 August 2024 by Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat (the Applicant) in relation to the decision taken by United World Wrestling (UWW) to replace her, for cause of her failed second weigh-in, prior to the gold medal match of the women’s 50kg freestyle competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which was due to start at 18:15 CEST on the same day (the Challenged Decision),” the CAS statement said , issued on Friday, read.

“The Claimant initially sought a decision from the CAS Ad Hoc Division overturning the Challenged Decision and ordering another weigh-in before the final match, as well as a declaration that she would be declared eligible and qualified to participate in the final.

“However, she did not request urgent provisional measures. The CAS Ad hoc Division procedure is rapid, but it was not possible for a decision on the merits to be made within one hour, given that Respondent UWW would have to be heard first. The process is, however, ongoing and the Applicant confirmed that it requests the annulment of the contested decision and that it requests the award of a (shared) silver medal.”