The Haryana grappler, who was making her third Olympic appearance, had cut her hair, gone without food and water and spent an entire night working out to stay within the prescribed weight limit but even extreme measures could not save her from being disqualified.
She filed an appeal in CAS a day later but crestfallen by the setback, Vinesh, in an emotional social media post, also announced her retirement from the sport soon after.
“The marginal discrepancy of a 100 grams and the resultant consequences has profound impact, not only in terms of Vinesh’s career but also raises serious questions about ambiguous rules and their interpretation,” the IOA statement said.
“The IOA firmly believes that the total disqualification of an athlete for such a weight infraction on the second of two days warrants a deeper examination,” it said.
“The matter involving Vinesh highlights the stringent and, arguably, inhumane regulations that fail to account for the physiological and psychological stresses athletes, particularly female athletes, undergo,” it added.
The IOA said the ruling is a “stark reminder” of the need for more equitable and reasonable standards that prioritise athletes’ well-being.
The overwhelming opinion was sympathetic towards Vinesh.
Top fellow athletes like javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, hockey star P R Sreejesh and even cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar threw their weight behind her and advocated a silver medal for her.
However, a lot of powerful voices like the International Olympic Committee (IOC) head Thomas Bach and UWW head Nenad Lalovic also stated that rules cannot be bent as such relaxations can have wider ramifications.
Is it possible to appeal against a CAS decision?
According to its website, an appeal is allowed but the procedure is so stringent that the chances of a relief are virtually non-existent.
“Judicial recourse to the Swiss Federal Tribunal is allowed on a very limited number of grounds, such as lack of jurisdiction, violation of elementary procedural rules (eg violation of the right to a fair hearing) or incompatibility with public policy.”
Vinesh’s legal team featured French lawyers Joelle Monlouis, Estelle Ivanova, Habbine Estelle Kim and Charles Amson who helped her and the IOA during the filing of the application.
They were provided to her by the Paris Bar and were handling the case pro bono.
In addition, senior counsels Harish Salve and Vidushpat Singhania were also roped in to help her in the case.
The CAS ad-hoc division, set up especially for dispute resolution during the Games, had accepted Vinesh’s appeal against her ouster on Friday last week.
