Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat has been deemed ineligible to share the Silver medal with Cuban wrestler Yusneylys Guzmán Lopez at the Paris Olympics 2024, by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS). After days of deliberation, the CAS, on Wednesday, August 14, dismissed Vinesh Phogat’s appeal for a shared silver medal with Lopez. The matter was heard by a sole arbitrator Dr Annabelle Bennett AC SC from Australia. While the operative part of the judgment is out, the final verdict will be made available on August 16.
According to reports, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Dr PT Usha expressed her disappointment at the decision and said that they would continue to stand with Vinesh.
On behalf of Vinesh, four lawyers in Paris filed a protest appeal at the CAS pro bono. The IOA was an interested party and had sought additional time to appoint a lawyer for the appeal before the CAS. Former Solicitor General of India Harish Salve and sports law expert Vidushpat Singhania represented the IOA at the CAS, which was held on August 9.
The wrestler had initially appealed to have her disqualification overturned. She sought another weigh-in before the gold medal match and sought that she should be declared eligible to participate in the final. However, she did not request urgent interim measures. Later, she modified her appeal seeking joint silver with Lopez.
Vinesh, who made history by defeating four time world champion Yui Sasaki in the quarterfinal on her road to the finals, was disqualified to contest the gold medal match with USA’s Sarah Hilbrendt on the morning of the bout after she failed the second weigh-in test by a small margin of 100 grams.
According to the rules, wrestlers have to give two weigh-ins – one before the competition starts on day one and the other before the medal matches on day two. Vinesh, in an unusual move, had contested both 50 kg and 53 kg weight categories in the national trials held before the Olympic qualifiers.
Another round of trials, which was supposed to be held after the Olympic qualifiers, was not conducted by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). The federation said that athletes who secured an Olympic berth in the qualifiers would remain as it is. As a result, Vinesh got the ticket to Paris under the 50 kg weight category.
What is CAS?
CAS is an “institution independent of any sports organisation which provides for services in order to facilitate the settlement of sports-related disputes.” The court, with its headquarters in Switzerland’s Lausanne, has courts in New York and Sydney. According to norms, the CAS had set up two temporary offices in Paris–the Ad Hoc Division and the Anti-Doping Division to settle disputes during the Olympics.
In its official press release, The CAS says that the “Ad Hoc division guarantees free access to high quality dispute resolution services conducted within a timeframe consistent with the competition schedule as decisions can be rendered within 24 hours in urgent matters.” In Vinesh’s case,
The Ad Hoc division - which heard Vinesh’s plea - was first set up in 1996 and has since been present at every Olympics. It is headed by its president Michael Lenard and co-presidents Elisabeth Steiner and Carole Malinvaud. Nine arbitrators are stationed in Paris. And three other arbitrators join in the proceedings remotely.