Vinesh Phogat Olympic Medal Case: Why Repeated Deferring Of Verdict By Court May Be Good

Vinesh Phogat's wait just got longer. The Indian star wrestler had appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after she was disqualified from the Paris Olympics 2024 women's 50kg wrestling final as she was 100 grams overweight. Vinesh's appeal to CAS was that she was within the permissible weight limit when she qualified for the final and hence was eligible for a shared silver medal. However, the verdict date for the case has been deferred a couple of times now.

On Wednesday, wrestler Vinesh Phogat's Olympic silver medal verdict date was deferred by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) yet again. While earlier it was said that the verdict would come before the Paris Olympics 2024 ended, it has now been deferred for the second time.

The first possible CAS verdict date was August 10, which was then moved to August 13. Now, the new verdict date is August 16.  

Vinesh's legal team has French lawyers Joelle Monlouis, Estelle Ivanova, Habbine Estelle Kim, and Charles Amson who helped her and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) during the filing of the application. They have been provided to her by the Paris Bar and are handling the case pro bono.

In addition, senior counsels Harish Salve and Vidushpat Singhania were also roped in to help her in the case.

 Ahead of the August 13 verdict date for the case, Singhania had explained why the lengthy deliberation by CAS is good news.  

"We all believe. Yes, the ad-hoc panel of the CAS has a time limit of 24 hours. The fact that they have extended the verdict deadline more than once means they are thinking about his matter seriously. if the Arbitrator madam is thinking about it, it's good for us," Vidushpat Singhania told India Today.

He was honest enough to add that cases in CAS often do not return with positive result. 

"I have fought many cases at the CAS in the past. The success rate at CAS is very low. In this matter, we are asking for a landmark decision from the arbitrator. It's a little difficult, but let's hope something big happens," he added.

"Let's all pray for Vinesh. Let's hope she gets a medal. Even if she doesn't get it, she is a champion," Singhania said.