Vinesh Phogat Olympic medal: CAS Hearing Verdict expected at 9.30 pm today

Vinesh Phogat Paris Olympics: Vinesh Phogat will have to wait less than an hour to know the Court of Arbitration of Sport's verdict on her joint silver medal plea at the Paris Olympics 2024. The ongoing anticipation persists for the final ruling from the CAS regarding wrestler Vinesh Phogat's disqualification from the 50kg freestyle wrestling gold medal bout at the Paris Olympics 2024 due to a minor weight discrepancy of 100 grams. In the event of a favourable outcome, Vinesh Phogat stands poised to potentially secure a shared silver medal with Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez.  

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) was scheduled to deliver its verdict on the appeal made by Vinesh Phogat against her disqualification from the women's 50kg freestyle wrestling final on Saturday. However, the announcement was postponed, and the new deadline for the decision is now set for Tuesday at 9:30 pm IST.

Last week, Vinesh spun a surprise by defeating world No. 1 Yui Susaki of Japan in the opening round. However, her journey to the final match took an unexpected twist on August 7 when she was disqualified due to exceeding the weight limit by 100 grams during the standard weigh-in before the gold medal bout. 

Despite gaining 2.7 kg following the bouts on Tuesday, August 6, Vinesh was unable to meet the required weight limit of 50 kg before the official weigh-in for the final.

The 29-year-old wrestler took the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) with the objective of securing a joint silver medal alongside Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez. Yusneylis had previously been defeated by Vinesh Phogat in the semi-finals but replaced her in the final match post her disqualification. 

Vinesh Phogat's disqualification from the women's 50kg wrestling final at the Paris Olympics 2024 was a significant disappointment for Indian sports enthusiasts.

Senior lawyer Vidushpat Singhania, who represented Vinesh Phogat and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), before the Court of Arbitration of Sport told India Today that the success rate of athletes overturning decisions at the CAS is not high, but said he is expecting a landmark decision from the ad-hoc panel of the sports court that heard Vinesh's case.

"We all believe. Yes, the ad-hoc panel of the CAS has a time limit of 24 hours. The fact that they have extended the verdict deadline more than once means they are thinking about his matter seriously. if the Arbitrator madam is thinking about it, it's good for us," Vidushpat Singhania said.

Vinesh entered the Olympics after successfully dropping 3 kg from her usual weight of 53 kg, a common practice among Olympic wrestlers. She began her journey by defeating Japanese Olympic champion Yui Sasaki in a close match, followed by victories over Ukranian wrestler Oksana Livach and Cuban wrestler Yusneyis Guzman in the semi-final. This remarkable achievement also marked her as the first Indian woman to reach the Olympic final in women's wrestling.