CAS verdict heartbreaking for Vinesh Phogat, but not unexpected

It was a verdict on the expected lines as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed Vinesh Phogat’s appeal for a shared silver medal on Wednesday, 14 August, albeit after two postponements of their deadlines. The decision puts paid to the gutsy competitor’s hopes of signing off her career with at least one Olympic medal, though she will remain a champion in the eyes of a billion people for showing remarkable character and resilience both on and off the mat.  

The postponement of the verdict, not once but twice, had kept a glimmer of hope alive, but it was always riding more on emotion than cold logic. In a sport where there are instances of a wrestler being disqualified for being even 50 g overweight (Japan’s Rei Higuchi, men’s 57 kg class gold medallist had to miss out on home Olympics in Tokyo 2020), the adage of rules-being-rules played out again – crushing whatever hopes Vinesh may have nursed to add one more medal to India’s modest haul of six.      

The terse CAS statement said: ‘’The application filed at the CAS Ad hoc Division by Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat (the Applicant) in relation to the decision taken by United World Wrestling (UWW) to replace her, because of her failed second weigh-in, before the gold medal match of the Women’s Freestyle 50kg competition at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 has been dismissed. Consequently, the UWW decision is confirmed.’’

‘’The Applicant sought a ruling from the CAS awarding her a (shared) silver medal for the Women’s Freestyle 50kg competition. The matter was referred to the Hon. Dr Annabelle Bennett AC SC (AUS), sitting as a Sole Arbitrator, who held a hearing with the parties on 9 August 2024. The full award with reasons will be notified to the parties, and published on the CAS website, as soon as it is available,’’ the court added.

Can Vinesh’s case at least set about a rethink on part of UWW on their weigh-in process which, in the past, was conducted only once instead of twice? The Indian, after all, was within the permissible weight limits on the first day of the competition when she completed three memorable wins – including the one against Cuba’s Yusneylys Guzman in the semi-final. Guzman, ironically, was promoted to fight US wrestler Sarah Hildebrandt for the gold medal bout after Vinesh was disqualified and hence her counsel pleaded for a second silver for her.

The ball is now very much in the court of UWW to tweak their weigh-in procedure, but the dye is cast for now. “Do you say that with 100 gms we give it, but with 102 gms we don’t give it anymore? What do you do with sports when you have differences with one thousand of a second? Do you then apply such deliberations?’’ said Thomas Bach, the president of International Olympic Committee (IOC), at a media conference in Paris – giving an inkling to the thinking of the establishment on Vinesh’s case.

Don’t be surprised if in a few days’ time, one may find the mood swinging against Vinesh in social media – what with the IOA president PT Usha having already put the onus on the athlete and the support staff about weight management. The experienced wrestler and her team had actually learned their lessons well from her shock first round defeat in Tokyo 2020, where Vinesh walked in without any nourishment and hydration to stay within limits of her 53 kgs class.

In Paris, she and her team were watchful as Vinesh had to come down to 50 kg category (to make way for Antim Panghal, the young Quota winner) and she started off with a weight of 49.9 kgs before her first fight on Tuesday. As she won three fights on a single day, she had to hydrate and have a recovery diet along the way to finally weigh 52.7 kgs after her semi-final triumph. This set off a frantic task of shedding off that extra 2.7 kgs overnight – where she eventually fell 100 gms overweight.

So, where does Vinesh go from here? It’s almost impractical at this point to visualise her making yet another comeback. There are also unconfirmed reports of her receiving feelers to enter the political arena. For the Indian sports fan, let the enduring image be that of a never-say-die fighter for now!