In what came as a surprise to all the Indians waiting cheerfully for the first ever Gold in Paris Olympics 2024, the disqualification of Vinesh Phogat has brought dismay to ever joyous Indians.The Indian wrestling star’s journey this olympics has been tremendously ablazing.She stormed her way into the women’s 50 kg final category by inflicting a crushing defeat on all her opponents, most amazing of which came in her match against incumbent world champion YUI SUSAKI (3-2)of Japan. She played defensive and made neutral all of susaki’s attacks . With just 7 secons left she flipped susaki and forced her onto the mat for 2 points. Susaki challenged the decision, but the judges ruled against her and the way was made for Vinesh Phogat to go up the ladder in the tournament.
All set to take on Sarah Hildebrandt of USA who was Tokyo olympics 2020 bronze medalist in the finals, the golden dream ignited the feelings of all the indians.
The last moment procedural requirements proved to be infavourable for Vinesh who was weighed merely 100 gms more than the required weight for 50 kg category, disqualifying her from the event.Vinesh had worked tirelessly throughtout the night to shed those 100 grams..The wrestler spent the night jogging, skipping, and cycling without sleep to make weight before the finals.
The matter rocked both houses of the parliament and the same feeling was echoed by the general populace around the country. The GoI acted swiftly to approach the International Olympic Committee through Indian Olympic committe chairman P.T Usha for an exception , but was denied.
The dream looked too far. Vinesh has now approached Court of Arbitration for Sport. Established in 1984, CAS is an independent institution that facilitates the settlement of sports-related disputes through arbitration or mediation. CAS is also called the Supreme Court for resolving sports-related disputes.She has now made an appeal to CAS for giving her the joint silver medal. The decison of CAS will be binding but the future looks bleak with the olympics final ceremony being on sunday, the chances are less that her appeal will be disposed off in her favour.
Nevertheless Vinesh through her awe inspiring journey and her feats have inspired all the indians and sportspersons around the world for her neverending courage and dedication to the sports. She may have missed the metal but she is getting accolades from all over the world.
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By
Advocate Divyam Kalsotra
LLM ( Constitutional Law )
Practising at High Court of Jammu Kashmir & Ladakh
