.jpg?width=1200)
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) caused a lot of confusion over the Vinesh Phogat case and finally decided that it will announce the verdict on August 13, as reported first by the Free Press Journal. This comes just hours after the CAS reportedly stated that it will make the decision by 9.30 pm on Saturday before postponing the date to August 11.
Sole Arbitrator Hon. Dr Annabelle Bennett will be issuing the order on Tuesday. The hopes of over 1.4 billion is pinned on the CAS since Phogat appealed to the court after getting disqualified from her event at the Paris Olympics 2024 for being 100 grams over weight..
The Haryana-born wrestler, who has demanded for a joint-silver medal in the women's freestyle wrestling 50kg category, will have to wait longer to know her fate.
IOC's stance in the matter
No athlete has ever received a medal like this before therefore, it is highly unlikely that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will overturn Phogat's disqualification and award her a joint-silver in this case.
"The ad hoc division of CAS has extended time till 6:00 p.m. on August 11, 2024, for the Sole Arbitrator Hon. Dr Annabelle Bennett in the Vinesh Phogat vs. United World Wrestling & the International Olympic Committee to issue a decision. The reasoned order will be issued at a later date," IOA stated.
India's medal winners
India's medals tally for now stands at SIX - 5 Bronze & 1 Silver. The shooters Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh and Swapnil Kusale grabbed three while Neeraj Chopra managed to take the silver in men's javelin while Aman Sehrawat added the final medal for India in wrestling on Saturday.
The nation is currently placed 69th on the medals tally.
The Vinesh Phogat Controversy
Vinesh Phogat got disqualified right before her gold-medal match in the women’s 50kg freestyle wrestling, ending up last in the category.
Her final opponent Sarah Hildebrandt from USA went on to win the gold medal after defeating Yusneylis Guzman Lopez of Cuba, who had lost to Phogat in the semifinal.
She spent the whole night trying to drop the extra weight but just couldn’t make the cut, losing her shot at her first Olympic medal. The 29-year-old wrestler was so drained from the effort that she had to be hospitalized. From her hospital bed, she filed an appeal with CAS, hoping they would reverse the disqualification.
Vinesh also asked CAS to push the International Olympic Committee to bend the rules and hand her a silver medal instead.
Before getting released from the hospital, Vinesh announced she was retiring from wrestling, devastated over losing the medal. But her famous uncle, Mahavir Singh Phogat, and his daughters have promised to talk her out of quitting.
Vinesh had already made history as the first Indian female wrestler to reach an Olympic final. She was about to be the first in her renowned wrestling family to win an Olympic medal, but those hopes were crushed by just 100 grams of extra weight.
