Eminent lawyer Harish Salve will appear for the Indian Olympic Association before the Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification from the Paris Olympics today. The hearing is scheduled to happen around 12.30pm IST.
The case will be taken up for hearing by an ad hoc bench led by President Michael Lenard, formed by the CAS for the Paris Olympics. The Indian wrestler lost a medal after she was disqualified from her final bout citing she was overweight by 100grams. She has approached CAS demanding she be awarded a joint silver medal.
Vinesh is a three-time Olympian and has won gold medals in both the Asian and Commonwealth Games. She had become the first woman wrestler to reach the gold medal bout in her category in the Olympics on Tuesday night.
Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who lost to Vinesh in the semifinals, replaced her in the final against American Sarah Ann Hildebrandt. Hildebrandt went on to win the gold medal.
Meanwhile, the ace wrestler announced her retirement on Wednesday. In a post on X, she wrote addressing her mother Premlata, "Wrestling won and I lost. My dreams are shattered. I don't have any more strength. Goodbye wrestling 2001-2024. I will always be indebted to you all. I am sorry."
