Vinesh Phogat disqualification: Appeal for silver medal accepted; hearing to take place at 1:30pm

Vinesh Phogat disqualification: The Court of Arbitration will hear the wrestler’s case for a joint silver medal after her shock disqualification ahead of her final bout for the gold medal. The hearing will take place at 1:30 pm IST. The court accepted Phogat’s plea against her disqualification on Thursday. 

Phogat, who had reached the final of the women’s 50 kg freestyle category, was disqualified from the final bout for being 100 gm overweight during the weigh-in on the final day. A heartbroken Vinesh Phogat subsequently announced her retirement from wrestling in an emotional post on X.

She also appealed against the disqualification decision in the CAS, an international institution that settles disputes related to sports through arbitration. It accepted one of the two pleas that she had submitted. She was asked to appoint lawyers for the hearing on Friday. 

Phogat had made two appeals to the CAS – one to appear for the final bout and one demanding a joint silver medal. The first plea was rejected, while the second has been considered. 

The Indian government has asked renowned lawyer Harish Salve to appear on behalf of Vinesh Phogat. The Indian camp got Salve on board. He had previously appeared for the BCCI among other prominent cases.

Salve will appear for the Indian Olympic Association before the Court of Arbitration for Sports. He will appear virtually. 

Vinesh Phogat had a stellar run on the mat in the Olympics 2024. The 29-year-old wrestler defeated defending champion Japan’s Yui Susaki, who had not lost an international bout with a stellar record of 82-0, in the first round. Vinesh then breezed through to the quarter-final and the semi-final, in which she defeated Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who eventually won the silver medal after Vinesh's disqualification. Guzman faced Sarah Hilderbrandt of the United States in the final and lost the bout on Wednesday.