Vinesh Phogat CAS hearing: Know when Indian wrestler’s Olympic fate will be decided

New Delhi: India ace wrestler Vinesh Phogat faced disqualification hours before her final bout of women’s freestyle 50kg event on Wednesday for being overweight by 100 grams in the weigh-in hours. She was denied to compete in the final, shattering her and the whole of nation’s hopes of a historic gold medal.

Known for her fighting spirit, Vinesh challenged the decision at the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS), filing two appeals on Wednesday and subsequently announcing retirement from wrestling.

The CAS, the highest court to judge on sporting disputes, accepted one of her pleas on Thursday and asked her to lawyer up for a hearing on August 9, Friday. The wrestler had become the first Indian woman to reach the final of any weight category but faced heartbreak the next morning she woke up. The disqualification forced India to appeal against it to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

There were reports of top Indian lawyer Harish Salve getting on board to plead Phogat’s case at the CAS which indeed turned out to be the case. With the intervention of the Indian government to bring in Salve, Vinesh is getting adequate support. CAS had also allowed the wrestler’s camp to get an Indian lawyer for which they pushed the hearing to Friday.

Vinesh had filed two appeals among which the CAS rejected the one where she wanted to be allowed to participate in the final match on Thursday. The court accepted her second plea of wanting a joint silver medal and scheduled a hearing at a convenient time for Vinesh to fly in Salve.

When will Vinesh Phogat’s hearing at the CAS take place?

The CAS has asked Vinesh Phogat to be present for the hearing with her lawyer on August 9 at 10:00 AM (Paris time) which means that the hearing will start at 1:30 PM IST. As per the latest developments, Vinesh will be represented by four pro bono French lawyers with Harish Salve and Vidhushpat Singhania (sports law expert) being a part of the case as amicus curiae brief aka “as friends of the court.”

The verdict might be announced on Friday itself except if the judge feels he/she needs to hear more but in most of the cases at the CAS, the verdict arrives on the same day.

Who won the final?

The 29-year-old had raised hopes of an unprecedented gold medal at the Olympics after beating defending champion Yui Susaki of Japan in the pre-quarterfinal and Oksana Livach of Ukraine in the quarterfinal. She followed it up with a win over Yusneylis Guzman of Cuba in the semifinal to storm into the finals. After her disqualification, Guzman was granted entry in the final against USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt who ultimately won a gold.

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 Vinesh Phogat had pleaded against her disqualification from the wrestling final event at the Paris Olympics 2024 to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS). Know all about her hearing which would decide her medal fate.  Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today