Wrestler Vinesh Phogat with other wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik gets emotional on her arrival after Paris Olympics heartbreak, at IGI airport, in New Delhi, onAugust 17, 2024. Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda is also seen.
Champion wrestler Vinesh Phogat arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Saturday (August 17, 2024) following the heartbreak in Paris Olympics where she was disqualified for being overweight after reaching the 50kg final.
There was a thick security cover as Phogat, who was found 100 gram overweight on the day of her bout earlier this month, landed in the national capital.
Typically competing in the 53 kg category, she had reduced her weight to 50 kg for the Paris Olympics. On the second day of her weigh-in, she was discovered to be slightly over the limit by about 100 grams. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has since appealed her disqualification.
Vinesh Phogat had scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to reach the final of a wrestling event in the Olympic Games.
Her disqualification on the brink of securing a gold or silver medal has left India in shock. Although Vinesh was assured of a silver, her disqualification means she may not win any medal in the Paris Games.
In a major setback to Vinesh Phogat appeal for the silver medal in the 50 kg category, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ad hoc division on Wednesday dismissed the appeal filed by Indian wrestler against her disqualification from Olympic Games final.
The CAS released a statement to render its verdict which read, “The application field by Vinesh Phogat on August 7 has been dismissed.”
In a statement, IOA President PT Usha expressed “shock and disappointment at the decision of the Sole Arbitrator at the CAS to dismiss wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s application against the United World Wrestling (UWW) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).”
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