 "Olympic body chief reacts to Vinesh Phogat's request for joint silver: 'When and where do you make the cut?")
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said they will follow whatever decision the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will give in the case of Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification from the Paris Olympics 2024. Bach, however, asked where would one draw the line after allowing small concessions in certain situations.
The 29-year-old Phogat was disqualified for being 100gm overweight ahead of her 50kg category gold medal bout on Wednesday. She then appealed against her disqualification in CAS, demanding that she be awarded a joint silver medal before eventually announcing her retirement from the sport.
Paris Olympics: News, schedule, medals tally and more
“I must say, I have a certain understanding for the wrestler; it’s clearly a human touch,” said Bach, during an IOC media conference here.
“Now, it’s (appeal) in CAS. We will, at the end, follow the CAS decision. But, again, the international (wrestling) federation, they have to apply their interpretation, their rules. This is their responsibility,” he added.
Asked if two silver medals could be awarded in a weight category, Bach said, “No, if you ask in such a general way. But allow me to comment on this individual case.
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“There the regulations of the international federation have to be followed and the international federation, United World Wrestling (UWW), was taking this decision.”
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More ShortsBach said a 100gm overweight may not sound much to a layman but asked would such a relaxation would apply to a track event where results are sometimes decided by one-thousandth of a second.
“Looking at the federation or anybody to take such a decision, when and where do you make the cut? Do you say with 100gms, we give it but with 102(gms), we don’t give it anymore? “What do you do then in sports where you have differences of one-thousandths of a second (in track events). Do you also then apply such deliberations?” he added.
Vinesh’s struggle to lose 2kg overnight: Skipping, jogging and attempting to draw out blood
Vinesh and her support staff took every possible measure to bring her weight within the prescribed limit.
The desperate tricks included cutting her hair, keeping her completely off food or liquids and spending an entire night working out to shed the extra weight.
She ended up being on an IV drip at the Games Village Polyclinic due to the dehydration caused by the extreme measures.
While announcing her retirement, Vinesh stated that she does not have the strength left to continue any further.
With PTI inputs
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