The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) sole arbitrator, while denying Vinesh Phogat a joint-silver medal at the Paris Olympics 2024, stated that the Indian wrestler did not engage in any misconduct that led to her disqualification.
Phogat was disqualified after exceeding the weight limit by 100 grams on the second day of weigh-ins, just before her gold-medal match.
Following her disqualification, an appeal was filed with CAS, which was reviewed by a sole arbitrator who heard arguments from both Phogat and United World Wrestling (UWW), the governing body responsible for her disqualification.
The operational decision was made on August 14, with the detailed verdict released today. The sole arbitrator noted that Phogat had competed in three rounds and reached the final of the 50 kg wrestling event before failing the second weigh-in. The arbitrator found no evidence of wrongdoing on Phogat’s part.
However, the arbitrator criticized the harshness of the consequences for failing the second weigh-in, which did not result from any illegal actions by Phogat, calling them “draconian.” The arbitrator suggested that a more equitable solution might have been to eliminate Phogat from the round in which she was ineligible, rather than disqualifying her from the entire competition.
Despite recognizing the merit in Phogat’s argument that she should have been considered eligible for the rounds she competed in after the first day’s weigh-in, the arbitrator stated that there was no provision in UWW rules to grant such relief.
Background
According to UWW rules, wrestlers must weigh in on both days of competition. Failure to meet the weight requirement on either day results in disqualification and loss of ranking for the entire event.
Phogat successfully made weight on the first day but was overweight on the second day, which led to her disqualification from the entire competition, even though she had reached the finals by winning her matches on the first day.
As a result, Phogat was not eligible for a silver medal despite her performance and advancement to the finals.
Posted and reproduced in Public Interest by
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