It is clearly up to an athlete to ensure that they remain below the weight limit, says CAS on Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification from Paris Olympics gold medal bout

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reasoned their claim of rejecting Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s appeal against her disqualification from the final of the Paris Olympics 2024 by saying that athletes are responsible for their weight limit.

Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the gold medal bout on the morning of the final after the Indian wrestler was found to be 100 grams more than her prescribed weight.

The wrestler said she must be given a joint silver medal, along with Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez who lost to her in the semifinals but was allowed to play in the gold medal bout after Vinesh’s disqualification, as her passage to the gold medal bout was beyond any doubt.

USA’s Sarah Ann Hildebrandt won the gold medal.

However, on the morning of the final, Vinesh failed to clear the weighing test. After the disqualification, that raised a brouhaha in Indian sports circles, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the athlete approached the CAS against her disqualification.

After three postponements on delivering a verdict, the CAS finally rejected Vinesh Phogat’s appeal. The decision evoked a sharp reaction from the IOA by saying Vinesh was in her premenstural phase and also partly put the blame on faulty weighing machines.

However, the CAS said the rules regarding weight limits are clear and there is no reason for tolerance. “The problem for the athlete is that the rules are clear as to the weight limit and are the same for all participants. There is no tolerance provided for – it is an upper limit. It does not even allow for the weight of the singlet. It is clearly up to an athlete to ensure that they remain below that limit,” the CAS said in their ruling.

The CAS added that the athlete gave the evidence clearly and directly at the hearing on being above the weight category. “There is no dispute that the applicant (Vinesh Phogat) was above the weight limit. She gave the above evidence clearly and directly at the hearing. Her case is that the amount of excess was 100g and that a tolerance should apply as this is a small excess and explicable for reasons such as drinking water and water retention, in particular during the premenstrual phase,” the CAS noted.

After the judgement, Vinesh Phogat returned home to a hero’s welcome a couple of days ago.