Vinesh Phogat’s uncle Mahavir Phogat has reacted strongly to CAS delaying verdict on her appeal for joint silver medal in women’s 50kg freestyle event at Paris Olympics. The CAS committee will announce the decision on August 16 at 9:30 pm IST.
Vinesh was disqualified from her event after being found overweight by 100 grams before her gold medal match. Speaking to ANI he said, “We had been waiting for the verdict for the last 5-6 days. We had been expecting the result but we are getting date after date. We will wait for the verdict from the CAS and we will accept it.
He further added,”140 crore Indians are waiting for the verdict and we hope the decision is in our favour. When Vinesh will return, we will welcome her like a gold medallist…”
This is the third date that has been allotted for the verdict and is the second time that the decision has been deferred.
#WATCH | Charkhi Dadri, Haryana | On the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing verdict, Vinesh Phogat’s uncle Mahavir Phogat says, “We had been waiting for the verdict for the last 5-6 days. We had been expecting the result but we are getting date after date. We will wait… https://t.co/z96NuKRrsi pic.twitter.com/OmyKLrIvZ2
— ANI (@ANI) August 13, 2024
Will there be silver lining for Vinesh Phogat?
Vinesh was on the cusp of making history by becoming the first women wrestler to win Gold or Silver in wrestling and only the second after Sakshi Malik to achieve the feat. However much to Phogat’s misfortune, she was disqualified even before she took to the wrestling mat due to being overweight .
The world championships bronze-medallist even resorted to desperate measures including cutting her hair. She didn’t sleep the whole night and did everything in her capacity to meet the criteria – from jogging to skipping and cycling.
Following the disqualification, Vinesh then filed a complaint with the CAS asking the court to overturn her disqualification and give her a joint-silver medal.
The hearing of Phogat’s legal battle at the CAS featured French lawyers Joelle Monlouis, Estelle Ivanova, Habbine Estelle Kim, and Charles Amson, provided by the Paris Bar. From Indian Olympic Association (IOA) side, senior counsels Harish Salve and Vidushpat Singhania fought the case for the Indian wrestler.
However Following the unfortunate incident, the Indian grappler announced her retirement from wrestling saying that she doesn’t have the strength to continue.
Following the latest decision the question still remains the same, will Vinesh’s plea for a joint silver be heard and will the CAS verdict go in her favour?
