The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Friday announced that the decision regarding awarding silver medal to former India wrestler Vinesh Phogat will be made before the conclusion of the Paris Olympics. Phogat was disqualified from the final of the women’s 50 kg wrestling competition for being overweight by a mere 100 grams on the morning of the gold medal bout.

Former Solicitor General of India, Harish Salve, will represent Vinesh at the hearing. The matter has been referred to the Hon. Dr Annabelle Bennett AC SC, sitting as a Sole Arbitrator, who will hold a hearing with the parties on Friday. The Sole Arbitrator’s decision is expected to be issued before the end of the Games.

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In a statement, the CAS said, “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.”

Phogat, who had reached the gold medal match by defeating Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez 5-0 in the semi-finals on Tuesday, was scheduled to face Sarah Ann Hildebrandt of the United States for the top prize. However, on Wednesday, she was disqualified for violating the weight limit. Following her disqualification, Phogat announced her retirement from wrestling on Thursday, saying she had no strength left to continue.

Vinesh had weighed in at 49.9kg on the morning of her first bout and went on to reach the final after three bouts, but weighed 52.7kg by the end of day’s play. After a sleepless night where drastic measures were taken to make weight, Vinesh weighed in at 50.1kg on the morning of her gold medal bout, and was subsequently disqualified as per UWW (United World Wrestling) rules.

Following Vinesh’s disqualification, Cuban Yusneylys Guzman Lopez replaced her in the gold medal bout, which was won by Hildebrandt. Vinesh’s appeal is to be awarded a joint silver medal.

CAS has already intervened at the Paris Olympics in the men’s doubles badminton event, ruling in favour of French duo Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar to feature after a BWF (Badminton World Federation) error initially excluded them from the draw.

Tendulkar backs Vinesh’s appeal

Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar extended his support to Phogat’s plea to award her a shared silver medal at the Paris Olympics. Tendulkar penned his thoughts about Vinesh’s disqualification appeal in a long post, where he said that every sport has rules and those rules need to be seen in context, maybe even revisited at times.

“Every sport has rules and those rules need to be seen in context, maybe even revisited at times. Vinesh Phogat qualified fair and square for the finals. Her disqualification by weight, was before the finals, and hence, for her to be robbed of a deserving silver medal defies logic and sporting sense,” Tendulkar mentioned.

“It would have been understandable if an athlete were to have been disqualified for ethical breaches such as the usage of performance enhancing drugs. In that case, to not be awarded any medal and be placed last would be justifiable. However, Vinesh beat her opponents fairly to reach the top two. She definitely deserves a silver medal,” he continued.

“While we all wait for a verdict from the Court of Arbitration for Sport, let us hope and pray that Vinesh gets the recognition she deserves,” he added.