Vinesh Phogat’s hearing in Paris at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has ended. The star Indian wrestler had appealed to the CAS after she was disqualified from the 50kg wrestling final at the Paris Olympics for being 100 gram overweight. Earlier, Vinesh was assured of a silver medal after entering the final of 5okg with three convincing wins but the disqualification saw her finish outside the medal bracket. Though Vinesh was within the permissible weight limit on the first day of the competition, on the second day she was found to be 100 gram overweight and was excluded from the Olympic wrestling final.
Vinesh appealed the CAS, an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration, for a shared silver. The hearing of the appeal took place on Friday and went on for three hours in Paris.
Vinesh, who was represented by four French lawyers, was present at the hearing virtually. Also present were lawyers Haris Salve and Vidushpat Singhania representing the Indian Olympics Association (IOA). The United World Wrestling (UWW) had their lawyer too at the hearing. There were referee and technical officials from UWW present at the hearing.
Dr Annabelle Bennett AC SC (AUS) was the sole arbitrator for CAS. She heard both parties’ arguments patiently. Vinesh’s lawyers argued that the wrestlers disqualification was not right. The CAS said that there is an operating procedure for which it was taking time but added that the verdict will be delivered soon.
Singhania told NDTV that he was confident of a positive outcome. “We were the lawyers of the IOA. Harish Salve was leading the argument and I was assisting him. By an large everybody argument was 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. The basic ask of Vinesh’s lawyer was that she should be given silver medal.”
Earlier, the CAS had released a statement on Vinesh Phogat.
CAS Statement On Vinesh Phogat’s Plea:
“An application was filed at the CAS Ad hoc Division 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, because of her failed second weigh-in, before the gold medal match of the Women’s Freestyle 50kg competition at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 that was due to commence at 18:15 CEST the same day (the Challenged Decision),” the statement from the CAS, issued on Friday, read.
“The Applicant initially sought a decision from the CAS Ad hoc Division annulling the Challenged Decision and ordering another weigh-in before the final match as well as a declaration that she be declared eligible and qualified to participate in the final.
“However, she did not request urgent interim measures. The CAS Ad hoc Division procedure is fast, but it was not possible for a decision on the merits to be issued within an hour, bearing in mind that the Respondent UWW would have had to be heard first. The procedure is, however, ongoing and the Applicant has confirmed that she seeks the annulment of the Challenged Decision and that she requests to be awarded a (shared) silver medal.”
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