He Court of Arbitration for Sports (TAS) on Tuesday postponed its decision on the Indian fighter’s claim Vinesh Phogat to share the silver medal in the 50 kilogram category at the 2024 Olympic Games, after being disqualified before the final for exceeding the maximum weight by one hundred grams during the weigh-in.
The new date set by the court to issue its decision is next Friday, August 16, at 9:30 pm India time (18:00 GMT), the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said in a statement reported by local media.
This is the second time CAS has postponed its decision, which was first scheduled for August 10.
Phogat appealed to CAS on August 7, a day after he was disqualified from the Paris 2024 wrestling competition for exceeding the weight limit by one hundred grams during the weigh-in before the gold medal match.
The fighter followed a strict regimen in the hours leading up to the weigh-in, barely hydrating himself or eating food to reach the 50 kilo limit, which led to his hospitalization. In addition, his team cut his hair and clothes to try to reduce his weight as much as possible, without success.
This excess of one hundred grams led the organization to order his immediate disqualification, placing him in last place in the classification of the event and with no possibility of competing for the silver medal achieved by the Indian wrestler on the mat.
Phogat did reach the required weight in previous bouts, which is why he asked in his appeal to overturn his disqualification and award him the shared silver medal.
Until his disqualification, Phogat became the first Indian wrestler to qualify for the final. However, he announced his withdrawal just one day after being disqualified for not having “more energy to continue”.
The Indian athlete received all the support from India following the organization’s decision, including the Government’s decision, which stated that it presented “a strong protest to the International Federation of Associated Wrestling.”
The IOA also received some criticism, especially on social networks, for not controlling the weight of the wrestler, after which its president, PT Usha, said on Sunday in a statement that the media reported that the wrestler and his team is responsible, and not the doctors of the Indian committee.
If the CAS rules in favor of Phogat, India will have seven medals at Paris 2024 (2 silver and 5 bronze), equaling the highest historical record achieved at Tokyo 2020.
Source: La Verdad
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