Lovish Chauhan
North News
Chandigarh, August 13
Vinesh Phogat was on the brink of achieving ultimate glory at the Paris Olympics when she was denied the chance to make history for India due to ‘rules.’ Vinesh missed out on an Olympic medal after failing the weigh-in for the 50kg final event on August 7. She was about 100 grams over the permissible limit of 50 kg, leading to her disqualification from the competition.
Following this disqualification, Vinesh Phogat announced her retirement from wrestling. She had been seen as a strong contender against Sarah Hildebrandt. Vinesh’s career has been marked by challenges, including an ACL tear in Rio and struggles in Tokyo. After her disqualification, she challenged the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), demanding that she be awarded a joint silver medal. The outcome of the Vinesh Phogat CAS hearing is expected to be announced today.
The news outlet NDTV Sports highlighted a significant loophole in the world wrestling body’s rulebook. The rules state that the person eligible for repechage is the one who loses to the finalist. In the 50 kg freestyle wrestling final, Yui Susaki of Japan was given the chance to fight for the bronze medal in the repechage rounds. However, since Vinesh was disqualified from the gold medal match due to a failed weigh-in, she was not considered a finalist.
The final match was between Yusneylys Guzman of Cuba and Sarah Hildebrandt of the USA. The NDTV Sports report questioned the basis on which Susaki was allowed to compete in the repechage, as, by the rules, she shouldn’t have been eligible. The report added that logically, Susaki should not have been part of the repechage rounds since Vinesh’s results were expunged, but this was not the case.
