A day after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat's application for a joint silver medal after her disqualification at the Paris Olympics, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on August 15 signalled that all is not lost as there is still some hope on the horizon.
IOA advocate Vidushpat Singhania said the CAS verdict is only a 'single-line order' and not a detailed one, adding that there is an option to appeal against the ruling.
Phogat had been disqualified from the Paris Olympics on the day of the wrestling 50kg freestyle final after being found around 100 gm overweight. The development came mere hours after she scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the gold medal bout in her category.
According to Singhania, the IOA can appeal against the CAS decision at the Swiss Federal Tribunal within 30 days.
"No detailed order has come yet. Only a single-line order has come so far that her appeal has been dismissed. They have not cited a reason why has it been dismissed or why did they take so much time...We were both surprised and disappointed that a decision came last evening and her appeal was dismissed... We hope that the detailed order will come in 10-15 days...," ANI quoted Singhania as saying.
"The CAS decision can be appealed against at the Swiss Federal Tribunal within 30 days. The 30-day time will begin after a detailed order comes. Harish Salve is with us, he will guide us. We will sit with him, draft an appeal and file it...," he added.
The CAS' statement arrived on August 14 confirming that "the application field by Vinesh Phogat on August 7 has been dismissed".
Earlier, the CAS' decision was expected on August 11, but was delayed until August 13. Then again, it was announced that the CAS would announce its verdict on August 16, but it arrived on August 14 itself.
Vinesh Phogat was all set to compete for the gold medal at the Paris Olympics 2024 on August 7 in the women’s 50kg event against the USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt.
However, hours before the match, she was disqualified as she was 100 gms above the permissible limit.
Following this, Vinesh appealed to the CAS to award her the silver medal in the 50kg weight category. She also announced her retirement from wrestling on August 8.
She took to X and wrote, “Maa kushti (wrestling) won against me, I lost. Forgive me, your dream and my courage have been broken. I don't have any more strength now. Goodbye Wrestling 2001-2024. I will always be indebted to you all for forgiveness.”
Meanwhile, Hildebrandt secured the gold medal in the women's 50kg freestyle wrestling after she defeated Cuba's Yusneylis Guzman Lopez.
With agency inputs.
