An Olympic medal eluded Vinesh Phogat again. After the injury heartbreak in Rio in 2016 and the crushing quarter-final in Tokyo three years ago, Vinesh Phogat came close to realising her dream in Paris. However, after a shocking disqualification and a week-long court battle, Vinesh will return empty-handed from the French capital. Sport is cruel, they say. And Vinesh has learned it the tough way, not once, not twice, but thrice.

She reached the final of the women’s 50kg category on Tuesday, August 6. However, there was an announcement on the morning of the following day from the International Olympic Committee that sent shockwaves through the country. Vinesh was disqualified from her wrestling final bout for being 100 grams overweight on the morning of the big gold medal match.

Vinesh Phogat had beaten Japan’s Yui Susaki in the opening round of her competition at the Paris Olympics. It was one of the greatest upsets in Olympic wrestling as Susaki had an 82-0 unbeaten record before she faced Vinesh on the mat. It looked like Vinesh’s wait for an Olympic medal would finally end when she stormed through to the gold medal bout.

However, it all came crashing down on August 7. She appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the disqualification and requested that she be awarded a joint silver medal. She retired from sport with a heartbreaking message to her mother the day after. But, her legal battle, aided by the Indian Olympic Association, went in vain when the CAS dismissed her appeal on Wednesday, August 14.

Here is a timeline of how Vinesh Phogat’s heartbreaking Paris 2024 stint played out.

Dream day for Vinesh in Paris

On Tuesday, August 6, Vinesh Phogat returned to the Olympic mat, this time in Paris. After the heartbreaks in Rio and Tokyo, it looked like Vinesh would not have the courage to fight again. However, she not only fought her opponents, but took on powerful administrators by being the face of wrestlers’ protests last year.

Vinesh had very little time to qualify for the Paris Olympics and she did so by dropping down from 53kg to 50kg category.

And when she took the matin Paris, she was unstoppable. Vinesh defeated Yui Susaki in a tactically brilliant first match before beating Ukraine’s Oksana Livach, a former European champion, 7-5, in the quarter-final. She then stormed into the final after defeating Pan American Games champion Yusneylis Guzman of Cuba 5-0 in the semi-finals.

Vinesh Fails to Make Weight

The Indian wrestler was not able to make her 50kg weight in the morning of her final bout. Vinesh, who was required to be at maximum of 50 kgs but weighed-in at 50.100kg, just 100 grams above the limit. Phogat was immediately disqualified from the event and Cuban Lopez Guzman, who Vinesh beat in the semi-finals was awarded the spot in the finals.

Vinesh did not just lose her silver medal, but finished last after disqualification in the women’s 50kg category. Her results from Tuesday were declared null and void.

Vinesh Phogat Disqualified

Phogat’s disqualification sent the fans and the media in a frenzy. Indians had to take a crash course in weight cutting to understand what had actually happened and how had Vinesh worked right before her bout to get rid of the extra weight that she had put on.

Vinesh’s coach, nutritionist and the Indian team doctor Dinshaw Pardiwala was blamed for the disaster. Meanwhile, amidst all the ruckus, Vinesh’s case was registered at the Court of Arbitration by French pro-bono lawyers, who were there to represent the athletes at the Paris Olympics.

Vinesh Phogat retires

In a heartbreaking note to her mother, Vinesh Phogat confirmed she was retiring from wrestling and did not have the strength to fight any longer.

Announcing her retirement, she said in a post on X in Hindi, “Ma Kusti (Mother, wrestling) won against me, I lost. Forgive me, your dream and my courage has been broken. I don’t have any more strength now.”

“Goodbye Wrestling 2001-2024,” she added in the post.

IOA Consults Lawyers

The Wrestling Federation of India protested the disqualification to the United World Wrestling, the global governing body. Indian Olympic Association chief PT Usha confirmed the development while speaking to the media.

WFI chief Sanjay Singh said Vinesh Phogat was not at fault, but urged the support staff, including the wrestler’s physio and coach, to take responsibility for the failed weigh-in.

The IOA wasted no time in consulting veteran lawyer Harish Salve after Vinesh’s plea for a joint silver medal was accepted as a case by the CAS. Salve represented the association in the online hearing at the CAS.

Nothing Can Be Done: Wrestling Body

Nenad Lalovic, chief of United World Wrestling (UWW), stated that nothing could be done to overturn Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification from the Paris Olympics. The Indian wrestler was disqualified after failing the weigh-in (which is required for all wrestlers at the start of each match day) on Wednesday. IOA president PT Usha described Vinesh Phogat’s exclusion as “very shocking,” and stated that the team was giving Phogat with “all medical and emotional support.”

However, UWW chief Lalovic dashed all hopes. “I have nothing against that (India’s appeal), but I know the outcome,” he told Indian media in Paris. “I don’t see what I can do. It is the competition’s guidelines, and I truly don’t believe it is conceivable (to overturn the result),” he remarked.

Olympic body chief empathises with Vinesh

IOC chief Thomas Bach on August 7 spoke about Vinesh Phogat’s Olympic disqualification and her subsequent appeal to CAS. Bach said he doesn’t see the possibility of winning two silver medals in the event. However, he said he understands the situation of the Indian wrestler, who was disqualified before her gold medal bout.

“There is a human touch. But, looking at the federation or everybody who has to make such a decision, then when and where do you cut?” Bach said.

“Do you say with 100 grams we give it, but with 102 grams we don’t give it anymore? What do you do with sports when you have differences with one-thousand of a second? Do you then also apply such deliberations?

A three-hour hearing on August 9

Aapplicant Vinesh Phogat, the respondents United World Wrestling and the International Olympic Committee, as well as Indian Olympic Association as an interested party, were heard by CAS ad-hoc panel’s Sole Arbitrator Dr. Annabelle Bennett ina three-hour hearing on August 9.

How did Vinesh’s lawyers argue?

Vinesh’s lawyers argued that the weight gain on Tuesday evening was due to the body’s natural recovery process and that it is the athlete’s fundamental right to look after his/her body. They argued her body weight was under the prescribed limit on Day 1 of the competition, and the weight gain only happened because of recovery and that’s not a fraud.

CAS Deferrs Verdict Mutiple Times

It was expected that the CAS would hand in the verdict by the end of the Paris Olympics, but that was not the case. Everytime the verdict day approached, the CAS asked for an extension adding to the suspense in the case. After finalising the date of the verdict for the third time (August 16), the CAS decided to announce its operative verdict on August 14.

During the unprecedented delay in the verdict from the ad-hoc panel of the CAS, there was a glimmer of hope that the judgement would be in Vinesh’s favour. However, it was not meant to be.

CAS Dismisses Vinesh’s Appeal

Finally, on August 14, 9:30 PM IST, Vinesh Phogat’s appeal was dismissed. In their operative verdict on Wednesday, the CAS ruled in favour of the International Olympic Committee and the United World Wrestling.

However, this might not be the end of Vinesh Phogat’s case as she might be able to challenge the verdict by the Swiss court. As per the CAS website, any CAS verdict can be challenged, but only on a ‘very limited number of grounds’. IOA president PT Usha in an official statement said thatt the body will seek a legal recourse after Vinesh was not able to clinch the silver medal at the Paris Olympics.

“Judicial recourse to the Swiss Federal Tribunal is allowed on a very limited number of grounds, such as lack of jurisdiction, violation of elementary procedural rules (e.g. violation of the right to a fair hearing) or incompatibility with public policy,” the CAS website said.­

IOA Chief PT Usha ‘Shocked and Disappointed’

Right after the operative verdict was announced, IOA president PT Usha expressed her shock and disappointment at the decision of the Sole Arbitrator at the CAS. to dismiss wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s application against the United World Wrestling and the International Olympic Committee.

In her statement, PT Usha confirmed that the IOA would be exploring further legal options and stand with Vinesh in this matter.

“The IOA firmly believes that the total disqualification of an athlete for such a weight infraction on the second of two days warrants a deeper examination. Our legal representatives had duly brought this out in their submissions before the Sole Arbitrator.

“The matter involving Vinesh highlights the stringent and, arguably, inhumane regulations that fail to account for the physiological and psychological stresses athletes, particularly female athletes, undergo. It is a stark reminder of the need for more equitable and reasonable standards that prioritize athletes’ well-being,” PT Usha’s statement said.

Can Vinesh Phogat challenge CAS Verdict?

As per the CAS website, any CAS verdict can be challenged, but only on a ‘very limited number of grounds’.

The CAS is often described as the “Supreme Court” of the sports world, and its decisions are typically final and binding.

“Judicial recourse to the Swiss Federal Tribunal is allowed on a very limited number of grounds, such as lack of jurisdiction, violation of elementary procedural rules (e.g. violation of the right to a fair hearing) or incompatibility with public policy,” the CAS website said.

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