New Delhi: The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has released the detailed verdict of Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s plea which challenged her disqualification from the final of 50kg women’s freestyle event at the Paris Olympics. Ahead of her gold medal bout against America’s Sarah Ann Hildebrandt, the 29-year-old Vinesh was found to be overweight from her permissible 50kg limit, leading her disqualification and eventually missing out on a podium finish.
On August 14, an ad-hoc division of the CAS, in a one-line verdict, rejected Vinesh’s appeal against the disqualification with the wrestler asking to be considered for silver medal after she reached the final with three straight wins. Reports suggested that the wrestler was 100gm overweight.
The CAS on Monday published a detailed decision, justifying their verdict by standing with the rules enlisted by the United World Wrestling (UWW).
“The problem for the Athlete is that the Rules are clear as to the weight limit and are the same for all participants. There is no tolerance provided for -– it is an upper limit. It does not even allow for the weight of the singlet. It is clearly up to an athlete to ensure that they remain below that limit,” the CAS statement read.
“There is no dispute that the Applicant was above the weight limit. She gave the above evidence clearly and directly at the hearing. Her case is that the amount of excess was 100g and that a tolerance should apply as this is a small excess and explicable for reasons such as drinking water and water retention, in particular during the pre-menstrual phase,” the statement further read.
Vinesh Phogat’s medal loss heatbreak for India
Vinesh was guaranteed of a medal, at least a silver, only if she had competed under the limited weight. There was a good oppotunity for the wrestler from Haryana to bag India’s first gold medal in wrestling as well but lack of planning and ignorance by Vinesh and her team led to terrible disappointment for the entire nation.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has released the detailed verdict of Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s plea which challenged her disqualification from the final of 50kg women’s freestyle event at the Paris Olympics. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
