Paris Olympics: Vinesh Phogat moves Court of Arbitration for Sport, appeals against disqualification from wrestling final

Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat has moved the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after her disqualification from the Women’s Freestyle 50kg final at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.

Vinesh reportedly appealed to be reinstated for the gold-medal bout but has since asked for a joint-silver medal to be awarded to her. The CAS interim ruling will be delivered on Thursday.

An Indian Olympic Association (IOA) source in the visiting Indian contingent confirmed the development to PTI.

“Yes we got to know about it. It has been done by her team,” said the source.

An ad hoc division of the CAS has been set up in Paris for resolution by arbitration of any disputes arising during the Olympic Games or during a period of 10 days preceding the Opening Ceremony.

The Indian wrestler was disqualified from the competition and lost out on a confirmed silver medal. Vinesh was supposed to take on the USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt, the Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist, for the gold medal.

The 29-year-old was a little over 100 grams above the 50kg weight limit during Wednesday morning’s weigh-in at 7: 15 AM local time. Vinesh weighed 49.90 kg on Tuesday morning ahead of her first-round bout, well within the permissible limit. She, however, gained weight during the day as she secured three back-to-back wins, including one over defending Olympic champion Yui Susaki, to reach the final.

“We have to respect the rules. I’m so sad what happened to her. She was overweight, even though by a small margin but rules are rules. The weigh-in is public and all the athletes are there. It’s impossible to let someone to compete who doesn’t make the weight,” United World Wrestling (UWW) President Nenad Lalovic had said earlier on Wednesday.

(With inputs from PTI)