CAS explains that it was Vinesh Phogat’s responsibility to stay within the weight limit

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has ruled that athletes will have to ensure they stay under their weight limit and no exceptions can be made under any circumstances, while giving reasons for rejecting Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s appeal against her disqualification from the Paris Olympics final.

An ad hoc division of the CAS on August 14 rejected her appeal against a heartbreaking disqualification from the final for being 100 grams overweight, a decision that sparked a strong reaction from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

The CAS published a detailed decision on Monday, explaining the reasons why Vinesh’s appeal was rejected.

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“The problem for the athlete is that the rules are clear as to the weight limit and they are the same for all participants. There is no tolerance provided for, it is an upper limit. Even the weight of the shirt is not allowed. It is clearly the athlete’s responsibility to ensure that he stays below that limit,” CAS said.

“There is no doubt that the complainant was over the weight limit. She presented the above-mentioned evidence clearly and straightforwardly at the hearing. Her argument is that the amount of excess was 100g and that a tolerance should be applied as this is a small excess and explainable by reasons such as water consumption and fluid retention, particularly during the pre-menstrual phase.” Vinesh, 29, was disqualified on the morning of the women’s 50kg freestyle final.

The decision on his appeal was handed down after three adjournments.

In her appeal, Vinesh had demanded that she be awarded the silver medal alongside Cuban Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who lost to her in the semi-finals but was promoted to the showpiece after the Indian’s disqualification. Gold went to American Sarah Ann Hildebrandt.