Vinesh Phogat judgment: CAS says consequences of failed weigh-in are ‘draconian’ but rules are clear, applicable to all

Vinesh Phogat’s complete disqualification from the women’s 50kg event at Paris Olympics despite being eligible on day one, is ‘draconian’ but still cannot be disputed under existent rules, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has laid out in the detailed report issued on Monday.

“The consequences of the failed second weigh-in, which do not arise from any illegal or wrongful act on the part of the Applicant are, in the opinion of the Sole Arbitrator, draconian,” one of the points in the report said. “A consequence of elimination without ranking from the round for which the Athlete was found ineligible, having been eligible for the rounds for which she competed, would seem to be a fairer solution.”

But in the detailed conclusion, the report adds that, “There is no dispute that the Applicant failed the second weigh-in, in that her weight was in excess of the 50 kg limit. Her case is, in essence, that this is a small excess and can be explained by factors such as the menstrual cycle, water retention, the need to hydrate and insufficient time to reduce her weight by reason of the travel time to the Athlete’s Village.”

The verdict, as explained by Sole Arbitrator Dr Annabelle Bennett added that the problem for Vinesh Phogat is that the Rules are clear as to the weight limit and are the same for all participants. Even though the Indian star was found to be just 100gms over the prescribed cut off of 50kg, there is no tolerance provided for – 50kg is an upper limit that 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. There is no discretion provided in the Rules, which the Sole Arbitrator is bound to apply. The Sole Arbitrator sees the force in the submissions that the consequences of failure of the
second weigh-in should be restricted to ineligibility for the event that followed the second weigh-in, namely the finals, but unfortunately for the Applicant, this is not the consequence provided in the Rules,” the conclusion read.

On Wednesday, the CAS had dismissed Vinesh Phogat’s appeal against disqualification from the Paris Olympics after she failed to make weight for her women’s 50kg freestyle final last week.

Vinesh Phogat was set to face American Sarah Hildebrandt for the gold medal on Aug. 7 but was found 100 grams (3.5 oz) overweight despite starving herself and spending hours in a sauna the previous night to cut down to her competition weight. The disqualification meant Vinesh Phogat did not receive a medal and she filed an appeal in sport’s highest court challenging the decision of governing body United World Wrestling. She sought a ruling awarding her a shared silver medal but those hopes faded after the CAS decision on Wednesday. Cuba’s Yusneylys Guzman Lopez replaced Vinesh Phogat in the final, which Hildebrandt won 3-0 to take the gold.

(More to follow)

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