Vinesh Phogat’s knee injury in 2023 kept her Olympic qualification in doubt. Despite the struggles and challenges, Phogat managed to recover and qualify for the Olympics, showcasing her skills and determination to succeed at the highest level. At the Paris Olympics, Phogat’s journey ended in tears despite not losing a single bout.
India had a somewhat disappointing campaign at the 2024 Olympic Games finishing 71st in the medal tally. India only managed to bag 6 medals including one silver and 5 bronze medals. Their best chance of winning gold came in the Javelin throw but Neeraj Chopra had to settle for silver as Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem clinched the gold with a throw of 92.97m in the final.
Indian Men’s Hockey Team clinched one of their bronze medals beating Spain to retain their Bronze medal at the Olympics. Manu Bhakar claimed two bronze medals first in the Women’s 10m Air Pistol and then in Mixed Team 10m Air Pistol with Sarabjot Singh. Swapnil Kusale won the bronze in Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions and Aman Sehrawat in Men’s 57kg Freestyle Wrestling.
Controversy after Phogat’s semi-final truimph
India was set to have one more shot at the Gold Medal when Vinesh Phogat became the first Indian woman wrestler to enter the final of the Olympics. Phogat beat Yusneylis Guzman Lopez of Cuba in the Women’s 50 kg semi-final by 5-0 on Day 11 and was guaranteed at least a silver medal in the Paris Olympics. As Phogat attention shifted to America’s Sara Ann Hildebrandt, things took a drastic turn. Phogat was declared 100 grams over the weight limit leading to her disqualification from the Olympics.
Phogat was expectedly devastated upon hearing the news and immediately announced her retirement from wrestling. It was a tragic end to an otherwise successful campaign for Phogat.
India appeals Phogat’s Olympics disqualification
Following Phogat’s disqualification, a legal team of representatives was sent to appeal against her disqualification. The legal team included French lawyers Joelle Monlouis, Estelle Ivanova, Habbine Estelle Kim, and Charles Amson. Harish Salve (who represented India before the International Court of Justice in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case) and Vidushpat Singhania are the other names that will help to fight the case on behalf of Phogat.
The appeal is to reverse Phogat’s disqualification and award her the joint Olympic silver medal. According to reports, Phogat’s team put forth various factors before the court that led to her weight gain. “The distance between Champ de Mars Arena and the Athletes Village” and “the tight schedule between bouts” did not allow her sufficient time to adjust her weight, which had reached above the allowed limit by the evening of Day 1.
The IOC remained hopeful that the decision would be made in their favor.
“Indian Olympic Association remained hopeful of a positive resolution of wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s application before the Ad hoc Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against her failed weigh-in on the second day of her Women’s Wrestling 50kg competition in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” the IOA said.
CAS defers Phogat’s appeal verdict
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has extended the deadline for announcing its decision on whether to award a silver medal to Vinesh Phogat till Tuesday, August 13. Initially, it had deferred the decision until 6 PM local time on Saturday, 10 August. Later it was decided to move the deadline further. Both parties have been given August 11, 6 PM as the deadline to present any additional documents before the court.
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Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
