The date of wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s Olympic silver medal verdict has been postponed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) once again. While it was previously said that the verdict would come before the end of the 2024 Paris Olympics, it has now been delayed for a second time. The earliest possible CAS verdict date was August 10, which was then moved to August 13. Now, the new verdict date is August 16th.
Vinesh Phogat created history at the 2024 Paris Olympics by becoming the first Indian female wrestler to reach the final. However, before the 50kg final match, he was 100 grams overweight and was disqualified.
The famous Indian wrestler then appealed to CAS, an international body set up in 1984 to resolve sport-related disputes through arbitration, to award her joint silver on the basis that she was within the permitted weight limit on the first day. competition, when she won three fights to reach the final.
However, the appeal verdict date was postponed to August 16.
“The President of the CAS ad hoc division has granted the Honorable Dr. Annabelle Bennett, sole arbitrator in the case of Vinesh Phogat vs. United World Wrestling (UWW) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), an extension until 6 p.m. (Paris time ) on Friday, August 16, 2024,” the IOA said in a press release.
“Therefore, the scheduled Zoom meeting with IOA President Dr. PT Usha and Senior Advisor Mr. Harish Salve has been postponed.”
Salve was the Indian Olympic Association’s advocate at the CAS hearing in Vinesh.
“By applying Article 18 of the CAS Arbitration Rules for the Olympic Games, the Chair of the CAS Ad Hoc Division extends the deadline for the Panel to make a decision until 16 August 2024 at 6:00 pm (Paris time),” it stated the CAS. in a statement on Tuesday.
In her appeal, Vinesh demanded that she win a joint silver with Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who had lost to her in the semi-finals but was promoted to the final following the Indian’s disqualification.
Vinesh’s legal team includes French lawyers Joelle Monlouis, Estelle Ivanova, Habbine Estelle Kim and Charles Amson who helped her and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) during the filing of the application. They were provided to her by the Paris Bar Association and are handling the case pro bono.
Besides, senior counsel Harish Salve and Vidushpat Singhania have also been roped in to help her in the case.
Interestingly, the IOA sent out invitations for an online press conference with its president PT Usha and Salve at exactly the same time the verdict was expected this evening. This invitation was withdrawn minutes after the CAS statement.
Vinesh, who was making his third Olympic appearance here, announced his retirement from the sport a day after his disqualification, saying he does not have the strength to continue.
The world championship bronze medalist resorted to desperate measures to save herself from disqualification, including cutting her hair, going without food and water and working out all night.
Ultimately, she required intravenous fluids due to extreme dehydration and her plight elicited sympathy on all levels.
Other top athletes like javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, hockey star PR Sreejesh and even cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar gave their full support to her and defended the silver medal.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach later said he could understand her situation, but also wondered where to draw the line after allowing small concessions in certain situations.
“I must say that I have a certain understanding of the fighter; it’s clearly a human touch,” Bach said Friday.
“Now, it’s (the appeal) in CAS. We will, in the end, follow the CAS decision. But, again, the international (wrestling) federation), they have to apply their interpretation, their rules. This is the your responsibility.” Nenad Lalovic, head of United World Wresting (UWW), however, remained doubtful that there would be any change in results as they were just following the rules.
“I’m really sorry about what happened, but no matter the size of your country, athletes are athletes. This weigh-in was public, everyone saw what happened.
“We have no choice but to follow our rules,” Lalovic said.
The ad-hoc division of the CAS, created especially for resolving disputes during the Games, accepted Vinesh’s appeal against his dismissal on Friday last week.
With PTI inputs
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