Vinesh Phogat’s appeal to CAS: Full details of IOA’s submission before hearing

Former Solicitor General of India, Harish Salve, is expected to represent Vinesh in the CAS hearing on Friday.

Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the women’s 50kg wrestling final for being overweight on the day of the competition. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Vinesh Phogat and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) following her disqualification from the gold medal match in the 50kg wrestling event at the Paris Olympics. Vinesh is seeking a joint silver medal alongside Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman, who won silver, while Sarah Hildebrandt of the USA secured the gold.

An ad hoc division of the CAS has been established in Paris to resolve disputes that arise during the Olympic Games or in the 10 days leading up to the Opening Ceremony through arbitration.

Below is IOA’s submission to CAS.

According to the document, which Sportstar has acess to, “Vinesh Phogat is a female Indian professional wrestler born on 25 August 1994 (29 years old) in Balali, Haryana, India.

On the morning of 6 August 2024 at 7:30 AM, an official weight verification had been made (with a result of 49.9 kg) in the presence of Ashwini Patil (Physiotherapist) and Akos Woller (Coach). The results compiled perfectly with the regulations.

On the evening of 6 August 2024 at 19:15 PM, an official weight verification had been made (with a result of 52.7 kg) in the presence of Ashwini Patil (Physiotherapist) and Akos Woller (Coach).”

It further added:

“She entered the final of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris after her victory in the Wrestling competition (Women’s Freestyle 50kg):

1/8 (3rd on Mat B - Match 61, with a final score of 3-2 in favour of Vinesh PHOGAT);

1/4 (11th on Mat B - Match 69, with a final score of 7-5 in favour of Vinesh PHOGAT); and

semi-finals (5th on Mat B - Match 91 with a final score of 5-0 in favour of Vinesh PHOGAT);

All held on 6 August 2024 at Champ-de-Mars Arena Mat B.

“Vinesh fought three (3) difficult competitions on the same day, and was obliged to drink and eat for hydration and nutrition purposes for her health. It is only this way that humanly, she would be able to continue to participate in the physically demanding Paris 2024 Games throughout the day and make it to the finals.

On the morning of 7 August 2024 at 9:11, the Athlete received a disqualification letter issued by the IF Delegate for being overweight by 100 grams according to article 11 of the International Wrestling Rules: “VINESH Vinesh (IND) failed second day weigh-in.” She is disqualified for the finals to take place on 7 August 2024 as of 18:15 PM.

The athlete is not responsible for the distance between the venue and the village (which meant that she had to return to her room very late and lose time in the process of losing weight) or for the schedule of events, which meant that there was a very short time between bouts. The imperative of preserving athletes’ health, which is an integral part of the ‘lex sportiva,’ must take precedence over all other considerations.

“The excess of 100g is extremely negligible (representing around 0.1 to 0.2% of the athlete’s weight) and can easily be caused by the bloating of a human body during summer weather, as the heat makes the human body retain more water, scientifically for survival purposes. It can also be due to muscle mass increase as the athlete competed three times on the same day. It can also be caused by the food consumption of the athlete after the competitions to sustain her health and integrity for the demanding competitions.

“The conditions under which she “regained” weight after her first fights clearly show that this was not a case of excess weight providing any advantage whatsoever, but merely the implementation of a classic and essential recovery process.

Finally, it should be remembered that the CAS must uphold the fundamental rights of athletes, including the right to respect for their physical integrity. The CAS must also rule in accordance with the principle of proportionality. There would be a manifest disproportion between the level of excess (which excludes any attempt at fraud or manipulation of the athlete) and the irreversible consequences that would result from her non-participation in the finals in addition to the deprivation of her silver medal that was acquired by hard work.”

Joelle Monlouis, Estelle Ivanova, Habbine Estelle Kim and Charles Amson represented Vinesh and IOA during the filing of the application. Former Solicitor General of India, Harish Salve, is expected to represent Vinesh in the CAS hearing on Friday.