Star Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s petition to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, or CAS, against her disqualification in the women’s 50kg event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, was dismissed on Wednesday.
“The application filled by Vinesh Phogat on 7 August 2024 is dismissed,” read the decision in a release by the Ad hoc division of CAS.
This development comes just a day after the court had deferred its verdict to August 16.
The verdict means that Phogat, who announced her retirement hours after the disqualification, and India will not be granted a silver medal as the grappler had asked for.
Phogat was disqualified from the women’s 50kg event at the Paris Olympics as she weighed 100 grams over the limit on the second day of the competition, hours before her gold medal bout. The 29-year-old Commonwealth Games champion had reached the title clash after three wins, including a first-round upset over the top seed Yui Susaki of Japan.
Phogat had first appealed to be reinstated to the gold medal bout against United States of America’s Sarah Hildebrandt before changing her petition and requesting a joint silver medal along with Cuba’s Yusneylys Guzman Lopez.
Also read: What Vinesh Phogat achieved cannot be validated by a medal
The Indian had defeated Lopez in the semi-finals on the first day of the competition. The latter was promoted to the gold medal bout after Phogat’s disqualification.
According to the rules established by United World Wrestling, or UWW, the governing body of the sport, two weigh-ins take place in the morning of each competition day. Wrestlers are required to be within the weight limited in order to be eligible to compete.
On the second day, in which the final was to take place, Phogat was found to be 100 grams overweight and hence disqualified.
Explained: Why Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from Olympics wrestling gold medal match
A group of four pro bono French lawyers represented Phogat in her petition to the CAS, while the Indian Olympic Association were represented by Harish Salve and Vidushpat Singhania.
“The marginal discrepancy of a 100 grams and the resultant consequences has profound impact, not only in terms of Vinesh’s career but also raises serious questions about ambiguous rules and their interpretation,” the Indian Olympic Association said in a statement after the verdict, according to reports.
“The IOA firmly believes that the total disqualification of an athlete for such a weight infraction on the second of two days warrants a deeper examination. Our legal representatives had duly brought this out in their submissions before the Sole Arbitrator,” the statement added.
Phogat’s petition was presided over by Dr Annabelle Bennett of Australia as the sole arbitrator.
Also read: ‘Team did everything possible’ – Viren Rasquinha on Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification
With the dismissal of the case, India’s overall tally remains at six medals – one silver and five bronze.
Neeraj Chopra won silver in the men’s javelin event. Manu Bhaker won the first medal for India in Paris with a bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol event, before pairing up with Sarabjot Singh for a second bronze medal in the mixed team air pistol event.
Later, Swapnil Kusale won bronze in the men’s 50m 3 positions rifle event, while the men’s hockey team won a second consecutive bronze.
Aman Sehrawat, the only male in the Indian wrestling contingent, won bronze in the men’s 57kg freestyle event.
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