Indian legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar reckoned that Vinesh Phogat deserves a silver medal. She beat her opponents fairly to reach the final of women's 51 kg wrestling in the Paris Olympics 2024. Vinesh was disqualified for being 100 gm overweight ahead of her gold medal match. After disqualifying from the Olympics the Indian athlete has challenged the decision in Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), demanding that she be awarded a joint silver medal after being forced out for being 100gm overweight in the morning weigh-in.
Tendulkar who has announced her retirement from all forms of cricket said that we all wait for a verdict from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“Every sport has rules and those rules need to be seen in context, maybe even revisited at times. Vinesh Phogat qualified fair and square for the finals. Her disqualification by weight, was before the finals, and hence, for her to be robbed of a deserving silver medal defies logic and sporting sense” posted Tendulkar.
“It would have been understandable if an athlete were to have been disqualified for ethical breaches such as the usage of performance-enhancing drugs. In that case, to not be awarded any medal and be placed last would be justifiable. However, Vinesh beat her opponents fairly to reach the top two. She definitely deserves a silver medal. While we all wait for a verdict from the Court of Arbitration for Sport, let us hope and pray that Vinesh gets the recognition she deserves" added the post.
Exclusive details of the argument that Vinesh will make:
They are arguing that she did not commit any fraud.
Her weight gain was due to the body’s natural recovery process.
They are arguing it is the athletes’ fundamental right to look after her body
They will argue her body weight was under the prescribed limit on day 1 of competition, and weight gain only happened because of recovery and that’s not fraud. That is her fundamental right to replenish her body with nutrients needed to allow her body to recover.
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