Vinesh Phogat, CAS Full Verdict: During the Paris Olympics 2024, Indian star wrestler Vinesh Phogat had secured the silver medal by entering the final of 50 kg freestyle wrestling by winning 3 consecutive matches on 6th August. The gold medal match was to be held on the night of 7th August, but Vinesh was disqualified on the same morning because her weight was 100 grams more before the match.
After this Vinesh had appealed in CAS. His demand was that he should be given a joint silver medal in this event. But the decision in this case came on August 14 and CAS rejected Vinesh’s appeal. At that time CAS had only given its verdict and had not issued any statement or report of its decision.
But now CAS has released a detailed report of the decision on Monday (19 August), which details the lengthy process. This decision report of CAS is of 24 pages. This includes CAS proceedings. The entire decision can be seen like this.
Understand the decision through these points…
1. There is no dispute that the applicant (Vinesh Phogat) proved unsuccessful during weighing for the second time (before the final). That means his weight was found to be 50 kg more than the weight category. Her (Vinesh) belief in this was that it was a small excess (weighing 100 grams). This can be attributed to reasons like menstruation, water retention, need to hydrate and lack of time due to travel time to the athlete village, etc.
2. The problem for athletes is that the rules regarding weight are clear and the same for everyone. There is no tolerance provided to see how much is too much. It also does not allow the weight of the singlet (jersey worn during fighting). It is also clear that the athlete himself will have to see that his weight is as per the rules.
3. No discretion is given in the rules. The Sole Arbitrator is completely bound to implement this. The sole arbitrator also finds merit in the argument that the weight measurement done before the final was against the rules, so the applicant (Vinesh) should be considered ineligible for the final. That means they should be given silver, but unfortunately this facility has not been provided for the applicant in the rules.
4. The athlete requests that the appealed decision be set aside so that the results set out in Article 11 of the Rules do not apply, or that Article 11 be interpreted to apply only to the final round of the tournament. And it should not be applicable from the beginning of the tournament. It is not a matter of dispute that the athlete failed the second measurement. The applicant has not challenged Article 11 of the Rules. This means that the decision was taken legally and Article 11 applies.
5. The athlete has also demanded that the limit given in the weight rules should be changed according to his personal circumstances of that day and tolerance should be applied on that limit. This means that the weight of 100 grams should not be considered excessive and permission should be given to play in the 50 kg weight category. But if we look at the rules, there is no provision for giving any such relaxation. The rules are clear that 50 kg weight is a limit. There is no provision for individual convenience or discretion.
6. The athlete was successful in weight measurement on the first day. That means the weight was as per the rules. He had to succeed in the weight measurement on the second day i.e. before the finals also. Due to the implementation of Article 11 of the rules, she (Vinesh) was out of the tournament and came to the last position without any rank. It also snatched away the silver medal from him, which he had assured by winning the semi-final. On this, her (Vinesh) argument is that she remains eligible and eligible for the silver medal and her successful weight measurement on 6th August (first day) should be implemented on the second day also.
7. The athlete has also admitted that she has become ineligible as per the rules. Due to this, the athletes who lost to them in the semi-finals have become eligible to play the final. Only he was awarded a silver or gold medal. She (Vinesh) does not want any other wrestler to lose his medal. She wants a second silver medal in combined. In such a situation, there is no rule on the basis of which the applicant (Vinesh) should be provided the facility of jointly awarding a second silver medal.
8. It is clearly stated in the rules of United World Wrestling (UWW) that the wrestler should not only be eligible to play at the beginning of the tournament, but he should also be eligible throughout the tournament. That means from entry to final. In such a situation, there is no right in the rules to give even partial relaxation. This may explain why these rules provide that once a wrestler is disqualified during a competition, the consequences outlined in Article 11 apply.
9. All these rules and things mean that the Sole Arbitrator refuses to grant the relief sought by the athlete (Vinesh) and dismisses her application.
10. The Sole Arbitrator has found that the athlete (Vinesh) entered the field of play and fought and won the match in 3 rounds on the very first day. On the basis of this, she reached the wrestling final of 50 kg weight category in the Paris Olympic Games. But she failed in the weight measurement on the second day and was disqualified for the final. There is no indication of any wrongdoing (illegal) on her part (Vinesh).