Legendary shooter Abhinav Bindra says Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification most brutal moment in Indian sports; CAS extends deadline for decision

Wrestler Vinesh Phogat is likely to know whether she will be awarded a silver medal or not only on Tuesday, two days after the end of the Paris Olympics. This, after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) extended time till 6 pm, Paris time — 9:30 pm IST— on August 13 to come to a decision on the wrestler’s appeal. It was the second time on Saturday that the sports court sought more time to arrive at a decision.

Phogat has challenged her disqualification after she failed to make the weight for her 50 kg final against USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt last Wednesday. The Indian wrestler was found 100grams overweight on the morning of the final and was subsequently disqualified from the competition.

Earlier in the day, the president of the CAS ad-hoc division extended the time limit for the panel to give a verdict until 6 pm on Saturday. Minutes after the deadline, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said in a brief statement that an extension of another two days was made.

”The ad hoc division of CAS has extended time till 6 pm on August 13, 2024, for Sole Arbitrator Hon. Dr Annabelle Bennet in the Vinesh Phogat vs. United World Wrestling & the International Olympic Committee to issue a decision. The reasoned order will be issued at a later date,” the IOA said.

The hearing in the case took place on Friday. As per the CAS rules, the ad hoc panel ‘shall give a decision within 24 hours of the lodging of the application. In exceptional cases, this time limit may be extended by the President of the ad hoc Division if circumstances so require.’

Dismayed and heartbroken at the turn of events and her dreams of a gold medal shattered, Phogat subsequently announced her retirement from the sport. Even as the wait continued for the decision, Beijing Olympics gold medallist Abhinav Bindra termed her disqualification from the Paris Games on the morning of the 50 kg final as the ‘most brutal day in the history of Indian sport’.

Phogat has challenged her disqualification after she failed to make the weight for her 50 kg final against USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt last Wednesday. (REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi)

Bindra, who received the IOC’s Olympic Order award during the Session on Saturday, told The Indian Express he felt like throwing up after learning about Phogat’s disqualification from the Games.

“It was a very brutal day. (My first reaction) was of disbelief. Shock. I wanted to vomit. Early in the morning, somebody sent me a message. Frankly, I had no idea what was going on. It was crazy,” Bindra said.

Bindra acknowledged that from ‘a sports perspective, it is governed by rules and regulations’. “I am referring to the human side. She has gone through a tough time over the course of the last year and a half. To come back, qualify for the Games and come up with this performance. Incredible. To have misfortune, bad luck…Sport as life can be brutal. And I think it was perhaps the most brutal day for Indian sport in our history. I don’t think there could be anything that could even come close,” he added.

Support has been pouring in for Phogat from the world over. On Saturday, it was Japan’s Rei Higuchi who showed solidarity. Few would understand Phogat’s plight better than the 57 kg gold medal winner, who had missed his home Olympics in Tokyo three years ago after being found 50 grams overweight. “I understand your pain the best. same 50g. Don’t worry about the voices around you. Life goes on.
Rising from setbacks is the most beautiful thing. Take a good rest,” he wrote on X.

Members of the IOC’s athlete safeguarding committee, too, have checked on Phogat’s well-being. On Thursday morning, Bindra — the vice chair of IOC’s Athletes’ Commission — travelled to the Olympic Village, where Phogat is staying, to meet her. He called the former Asian Games champion his ‘hero’.

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He admitted there wasn’t a lot to say to console her. “What can I tell her? To be there for another athlete, another human being. To show empathy. For her to understand that, you know, there’s one thing about winning on the field of play. There’s another thing of gaining the respect of not just the entire country, but immense support flooding in from across the world. I just wanted her to realise that.

“But of course, she is an athlete and her mission here was not to win hearts but to win a gold medal. Frankly, no words, nobody can do anything for her. I don’t know what the CAS ruling will be. Only time can be a healer in this situation,” Bindra said.

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