Vinesh Phogat is still waiting. Decision on Indian wrestler’s appeal pushed back again

By: Cliff Brunt, The Associated Press Posted: 1:23 PM CDT Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024

Vinesh Phogat is still waiting.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/08/2024 (394 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Vinesh Phogat is still waiting.

A decision on the Indian wrestler’s appeal for a shared silver medal after she was disqualified from an Olympic final for missing weight has been postponed a second time and won’t come until Friday, the Wrestling Federation of India said Tuesday.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport — sport’s highest court — said a judge in Paris held a hearing last Friday regarding Phogat’s case against United World Wrestling and the International Olympic Committee. The CAS originally said a decision was expected by the end of the Olympics on Sunday, but the CAS granted arbitrator Annabelle Bennett more time, citing “exceptional circumstances,” and pushed the deadline for a decision to Tuesday.

India's Vinesh Vinesh and Cuba's Yusneylys Guzman, left, compete during their women's freestyle 50kg wrestling semifinal match, at Champ-de-Mars Arena, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

The federation said Tuesday the CAS has pushed its deadline back again as the wrestling-crazy nation of 1.4 billion waits.

Phogat was disqualified from the 50-kilogram women’s freestyle class after weighing in at 100 grams above the limit last Wednesday. Instead of becoming India’s first woman to compete in an Olympic wrestling final, she was denied a medal. She appealed, requesting credit for the three wins she earned after weighing in successfully a day earlier.

The situation brought to light concerns about the dangers of weight cutting. The Olympics have only six weight classes, instead of 10 for other international competitions.

Phogat announced last Thursday on social media that she would retire from the sport. The post, written in Hindi, translates as: “My courage is broken, I don’t have any more strength now. Goodbye Wrestling, 2001-2024.”