Vinesh Phogat appeals Paris Olympics disqualification at CAS, asks for shared silver medal

NEW DELHI: Wrestler Vinesh Phogat has appealed against her Paris Olympics disqualification at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) with the body likely to give an interim ruling by tomorrow.Vinesh initially asked for her final match to be reinstated but then modified her appeal for a shared silver. An IOA official confirmed to news agency PTI that Vinesh has knocked on the doors of CAS against her disqualification."Yes we got to know about it. It has been done by her team," said the IOA source.Earlier, in the day, the grappler was disqualified from her final bout after weighing 100 grams more than the permissible limit in the women's 50kg category.Vinesh was then taken to Games Village's polyclinic due to severe dehydration, which resulted from extreme measures she took to lose weight. They included remaining hungry, avoiding fluids, and staying up all night. After the disqualification, her place in the final was taken by Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who lost to Vinesh in the semis. Any hopes of Vinesh getting a silver medal now hinge on the CAS ruling. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is an independent body setup in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration or mediation.The CAS has its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland and has courts in New York City and Sydney. CAS also has temporary courts set up in Olympic host cities.However, the United World Wrestling (UWW) informed the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) that the weigh-in rule leading to Vinesh's disqualification cannot currently be changed.For a case to be admitted to the CAS, the athlete must have exhausted "all the internal remedies available to her/him pursuant to the statutes or regulations of the sports body concerned."The only exception is scenarios where "the time needed to exhaust the internal remedies would make the appeal to the CAS Ad Hoc Division ineffective."Vinesh had made history as she became the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the gold medal bout. She had been assured of at least a silver medal before her disqualification.