The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirmed a hearing date and time for Vinesh Phogat's plea for a silver medal at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Thursday. The CAS revealed that the hearing will take place on Friday, August 9, at 10 am local time (01:30 pm IST) in Paris and asked the star wrestler and her team to approach a lawyer.
The wrestler approached the CAS after the organisers disqualified her hours before her final bout in the women's 50kg category on Wednesday. She weighed 100 gms more before her gold medal match against USA's Sarah Hildebrandt and was later denied a silver medal.
Viensh's disqualification drew strong flak from Indian supporters who demanded silver for Vinesh. Vinesh showed her disappointment by announcing a shock retirement from wrestling but approached the CAS to plea for a silver medal at the Paris Olympics.
The CAS accepted her appeal on Thursday and has informed the Indian wrestler and her team about a hearing tomorrow. Meanwhile, the Government of India (GOI) has thrown full support behind Vinesh and asked her to appoint a senior lawyer Harish Salve before. Vinesh needs to confirm her lawyer with the CAS for the hearing before 6 pm local time on Thursday.
The Indian contingent has already protested Vinesh's disqualification with the International Olympic Committee and the Wrestling Federation of India has approached the United World Wrestling (UWW). Top sports personalities, including the six-time world champion and the former Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs, termed Vinesh's disqualification as unfair and are demanding a silver for the Indian wrestler.
Meanwhile, India's wrestling camp suffered two more disappointments on Thursday after Anshu Malik lost her opening round match and Aman Sehrwat lost in the semi-final in the men's 57kg category. Aman will feature in the bronze medal match on Friday and will look to bring some smiles to the Indian camp in Paris.
