Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat's hopes of securing a belated Olympic silver medal were dashed on Wednesday when the ad-hoc division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected her appeal against a gut-wrenching disqualification from the final for being 100gm overweight, a decision that evoked a sharp reaction from the IOA.The 29-year-old Vinesh was disqualified on the morning of the women's 50kg freestyle final last week. Despite announcing an extension of deadline till August 16 to announce the verdict, the decision against the star grappler came out this evening and it was a terse one-line statement.
"The Ad-Hoc division of the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) renders the following decision: The application filed by Vinesh Phogat on 7th August, 2024 is dismissed," the CAS order read. In her appeal, Vinesh had demanded that she be given a joint silver with Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who lost to her in the semifinals but was promoted to the summit clash following the Indian's disqualification. The gold was claimed by American Sarah Ann Hildebrandt.
In a statement, IOA President PT Usha expressed "shock and disappointment" at the turn of events. The body also lashed out at the "inhumane regulations" of United World Wrestling (UWW) that fail to consider the "physiological and psychological stresses faced by athletes". Vinesh is due to return to India from Paris on Saturday, according to her wrestling colleague and Tokyo Olympics bronze-medallist Bajrang.