Paris 2024 Olympics – Wrestling – Women’s Freestyle 50kg 1/8 Final – Champ de Mars Arena, Paris, France – August 06, 2024. Vinesh Phogat of India reacts after winning the match against Yui Susaki of Japan. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has deferred its judgement on Vinesh Phogat’s appeal for a shared silver medal to August 16, the latest in a series of postponements by the top judicial body in sport.
Phogat was disqualified from the women’s 50 kg wrestling category on the second day of competition due to being overweight by 100 grams, a decision that has since brought scrutiny on United World Wrestling’s (UWW) rules as well as statements from its chief Nenad Lalovic and International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach – both of whom stated that the rules were in place for the safety of athletes and they stood by the disqualification ruling.
“By application of Article 18 of the CAS arbshashashidditration Rules for the Olympic Games, the President of the CAS Ad Hoc division extends the time limit for the panel to give a decision until 16 August 2024 at 1800 (Paris time),” a release from CAS said.
Phogat’s counsel had earlier submitted statements which focused on the negligible amount of weight by which she had exceeded the limit and said that it didn’t constitute a competitive advantage. The statement also said that there could be various external factors that could be the reason for the increase in weight.
“The excess of 100g is extremely negligible (representing around 0.1 to 0.2 percent of the athlete’s weight) and can easily be caused by the bloating of a human body during summer weather, as the heat makes the human body retain more water, scientifically for survival purposes. It can also be due to muscle mass increase as the athlete competed three times on the same day. It can also be caused by the food consumption of the athlete after the competitions to sustain her health and integrity for the demanding competitions,” Vinesh’s counsel had submitted.
Her lawyers also argued that Phogat’s 100 gram weight increase leading to her disqualification, constituted a situation where the punishment was disproportionate to the ‘crime’ committed.
“There would be a manifest disproportion between the level of excess (which excludes any attempt at fraud or manipulation of the athlete) and the irreversible consequences that would result from her non-participation in the finals in addition to the deprivation of her silver medal that was acquired by hard work.”
This is the third deferral made by the CAS in this matter.
