Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat has appealed to CAS (the Court of Arbitration for Sports) regarding her disqualification from the Olympic finals in the 50kg category. She was declared 100 grams overweight in the morning weigh-in and, hence, disqualified; Phogat has asked that she share a silver medal.
Yes, we are aware of the appeal. It has been filed by her team," an IOA source, part of the visiting Indian delegation.
Her disqualification was announced after the 28-year-old was found to be 100 grams over the weight limit. It is reportedly said that she suffered serious dehydration due to intense measures she was taking to meet the required weight, which included heavy fasting, avoiding fluids, and staying awake to sweat it out.
An ad hoc division of CAS has been established to handle Olympic Games disputes, including those that may arise in the 10 days prior to the Opening Ceremony. There will be a hearing on this matter on Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, the Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, whom Phogat had beaten in the semifinals, was pressed into service for the final against American Sarah Ann Hildebrandt. Hildebrandt went on to win that gold, leaving Phogat hoping that CAS allows her a joint silver medal with Lopez.
It is a CAS procedure that all claimants must first exhaust all the internal remedies provided for in the statute of the relevant sports body before they can file an appeal unless waiting would render the appeal ineffective. But it has now been explained to the IOA by United World Wrestling, the international governing body for the sport, that the present weigh-in rules which saw Phogat get disqualified, cannot be changed at this moment.
Phogat created history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to compete in a gold medal match in her category late on Tuesday night and was assured of at least a silver medal before her disqualification.
