CAS verdict: A medal for Vinesh would set a rare precedent for the IOC

The Paris Olympics may have concluded on Sunday, 11 August, but for the Indian sports fan – it’s still not quite the case. Along with wrestler Vinesh Phogat, they are all praying for a favourable verdict when the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) announcement comes on Tuesday.

While the collective prayer is that the CAS recommends that a joint silver medal be awarded to Phogat, who became the first Indian woman wrestler to make the final, it’s the prerogative of the United World Wrestling (UWW), the world governing body of the sport, to take a call. While Vinesh’s lawyers have reportedly made an extremely strong case in a three-hour hearing, a reversal of her disqualification will need nothing short of a miracle – and the umbrella bodies know too well that it will set up a precedent which they will find impossible to contend with.

It’s common knowledge that in body contact disciplines like wrestling, weightlifting, boxing and judo – managing of weight becomes imperative as it’s the only benchmark to ensure a level playing field for athletes. There have been several such cases of heartbreak where an athlete has just gone off the mark, including Japanese Rei Higuchi, men’s gold medallist in the 57 kg class in Paris. Higuchi had been 50 grams overweight (yes, you have heard it right) in Tokyo 2020  and could not compete in his home Olympics – before showing great resilience and character for a comeback this time around.

‘’I understand your pain the best, same 50 gram. Don’t worry about the voices around you. Life goes on. Rising from setbacks is the most beautiful thing. Take a good rest,’’ Higuchi posted in support of Vinesh on his X handle.

Vinesh, now 29 and looking to sign off in a blaze of glory, has already said she does not have the stomach for a comeback anymore.  A report in The Indian Express has meanwhile quoted sources on the key areas of argument that her counsel team had put forth. ‘’The excess of 100g is extremely negligible (representing around 0.1 to 0.2 per cent of the athlete’s weight) and can be easily caused by the bloating of the human body during summer weather, as the heat makes the human body retain more water, scientifically for survival purposes. It can also be due to mass muscle increase as the athlete competed three times on the same day,’’ the newspaper quoted, along with the tight schedule – and distance between the competition arena and the Games Village - which also acted as a deterrent in the way of her weight management.

It’s an educated guess that CAS were in no position to make it an open-and-shut case in the face of a strong deposition by Vinesh’s team and postponed their verdict by two more days. However, here’s what Thomas Bach, the IOC president had to say on the issue in Paris a few days back: ‘’Do you say 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 also apply such deliberations?

Bach's logic surely gives an inkling to the thinking of the sporting establishment at this moment. While one would be inclined to fall back on the wisdom of rules are rules, but then if Vinesh’s case kickstarts a rethink on some of the almost draconian weigh-in rules (two separate weigh-ins in as many days in a tightly packed calendar) – then she would end up playing a pioneer’s role.

Meanwhile, the IOA (Indian Olympic Association) president P.T. Usha has pointed a finger at Vinesh and her support team for failing in her duties of weight management once again. The repartee came in the wake of the questions being raised in Parliament by the Opposition which raised fingers at Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, the chief medical officer of IOA in Paris and his team of negligence in the case of the wrestler.

"...the responsibility of weight management of athletes in sport like wrestling, weightlifting, boxing and judo is that of each athlete and his or her coach and NOT that of the IOA-appointed chief medical officer Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala and his team," Usha said in a statement. ‘’The hate directed at the IOA medical team, especially Dr. Pardiwala, is unacceptable and worthy of condemnation.’’

Well, irrespective of the CAS verdict, it would have been more becoming of the IOA president to stand by her athletes. But then, it’s the same Usha who said early in 2023 that the wrestlers’ agitation at Jantar Mantar has destroyed India’s reputation.

It’s a classic case of the legendary athlete putting Vinesh under the bus – ill-timed to say the least!