Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat has knocked onto the doorstep of Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for justice after being disqualified from the 50 KG women's wrestling category of the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympics. The 29-year-old's hopes of attaining a silver medal in the multi-nation event hinges on the CAS as their verdict on the matter is set to come on Thursday (August 8, 2024).
The Haryana-born wrestler faced the agony of being disqualified from the multi-nation event's gold medal bout of the 50 KG wrestling category. With Phogat weighing a few 100 gms above the permissible weight, the International Olympic Committee announced that she has been disqualified.
What is CAS?
Established in 1984, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) remains on the horizon to establish disputes arising in the sporting events. It's headquarters are located in Switzerland, while the courts are situated in New York and Sydney. The temporary courts are always set up in cities that host Olympics.
As per a report of the PTI, the one filing the appeal should have reached out to "all the internal remedies available to her/him pursuant to the statutes or regulations of the sports body concerned." The exception being situations where "the time needed to exhaust the internal remedies would make the appeal to the CAS Ad Hoc Division ineffective." Reportedly, the rule 61 of the Olympic charter states that all conflicts pertaining to the Olympic games should only be submitted to CAS.
An official media release claims, "The CAS Ad hoc Division guarantees free access to high quality dispute resolution services conducted within a timeframe consistent with the competition schedule as decisions can be rendered within 24 hours in urgent matters."
President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) PT Usha expressed her shock at Phogat's disqualification and asserted that she is okay on all fronts. As quoted by Live Mint, she stated:
"After hearing the news that Vinesh Phogat is disqualified, I am shocked and disappointed. I had come here to meet Vinesh; she is physically and medically okay. Mentally, she is disappointed. Our support staff is with her, trying their best to help her reduce weight."
Vinesh Poghat announces retirement from wrestling:
In a shocking turn of events, Poghat announced her retirement from wrestling on Thursday, responding to the disqualification. She took to X and released the below statement:
"Maa, wrestling has won, I have lost. Please forgive me, your dreams and my courage, everything is broken. I don't have any more strength now. Goodbye wrestling 2001-2024. I shall be indebted to you all. Forgive (me)"
