Before everything went awry, Vinesh was enjoying a miraculous run at the Olympics in Paris, defeating the current gold medallist and four-time world champion in the first round.
Since the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) decision has been postponed once more, Vinesh Phogat’s pursuit of a silver medal at the Paris Olympics remains unfulfilled. The Indian wrestler, who was ruled 100 grams overweight on the day of her last round and disqualified from the gold medal match, will not find out her fate until August 16.
In the round of 16, Vinesh defeated Yui Susaki, the four-time world champion and gold medallist from the Tokyo Olympics, Oksana Livach of Ukraine in the quarterfinal, and Yusneylys Guzmán with ease in the semifinal. Vinesh had claimed that she had made the weight. She ought to get a silver medal, at the very least.
The CAS has been deliberating for six days and has not reached a verdict. The hopes of Vinesh Phogat and the people of India are that the fighter wins.
ARTICLE 18: WHAT IS IT?
Subject to Article 20, the Panel will make a decision during the OG within 24 hours of the hearing’s end or, in the absence of a hearing, the end of the evidentiary proceedings. The President or the Deputy President of the CAS ADD may, in extraordinary circumstances, extend this deadline. When the OG has ended, the Panel will make a determination in a fair amount of time.
Vinesh, in her appeal, initially asked the ad-hoc panel of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to overturn the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to disqualify her, request another weigh-in, and allow her to compete in the final. However, she did not seek urgent interim measures. Although the CAS panel responded quickly, they were unable to hear from the involved parties before the final, which was set for Thursday evening. Vinesh then clarified in her appeal that she wanted her disqualification overturned and for her to be awarded a joint silver medal. Nevertheless, United World Wrestling President Nenad Lalovic expressed sympathy for Vinesh in an interview with India Today but emphasized that the disqualification adhered to established rules.
Despite the delay in the verdict, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President PT Usha supported Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala, who faced criticism on social media after Vinesh failed to make weight for her final. Usha stated that it was the duty of the athlete and her coaches to ensure the proper weight was achieved. Additionally, there were concerns raised about the fairness of the two-day weigh-ins at the Olympics. Prominent American wrestler Jordan Burroughs urged United World Wrestling to reconsider its regulations and consider a 1kg weight allowance for the second-day weigh-in. He also suggested that both semi-finalists should receive Olympic medals rather than using a repechage format that benefits wrestlers who lost to eventual finalists.