CAS hearing

Weighing drama: wrestler still hopes for a medal

Vinesh Phogat can still hope for a medal.(Bild: AFP)

Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who was disqualified from the Olympic Games for being overweight, can still hope to win a medal. 

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced that proceedings are underway, a hearing will be held with the parties involved and a decision is expected to be made before the end of the Games in Paris. Vinesh wants to be awarded a shared silver medal, it added.

The 29-year-old became the first Indian wrestler to reach an Olympic final on Tuesday. However, according to the Indian team, she was 100 grams heavier than the permitted 50 kilograms at the weigh-in on the second day of the competition. Phogat was disqualified as a result.

Her Cuban semi-final opponent Yusneylis Guzman Lopez took her place in the final, lost it and took silver. The Indian delegation lodged a protest with the World Wrestling Federation (UWW), but failed.

Phogat had to go to hospital
The dramatic end to the Indian athlete's gold medal dream caused quite a stir - also because of the measures that had been taken beforehand. Among other things, the athlete's hair had been cut. It was all to no avail. She was even taken to hospital due to the threat of dehydration. Phogat herself declared her retirement a short time later. "Wrestling has won, I have lost. My dreams are shattered, I have no strength to go on," she wrote on X.

Vinesh Phogat(Bild: AP)

It was not possible for the ad hoc division of the CAS to reach a decision on the Indian team's protest in the short time available before the final on Wednesday evening, the Court of Arbitration for Sport also announced. The defendant, in this case the World Wrestling Federation UWW, should have been heard first. This will now be done. Phogat can therefore hope again after the drama.