Verdict on Vinesh Phogat’s appeal was on expected lines

Bengaluru: It took an unusually long hearing for the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to deliver its verdict on Vinesh Phogat's appeal for a joint silver medal after the Indian wrestler was disqualified from her gold-medal bout for failing her weigh-in at the Paris Olympics. Given the guidelines, it was an open and shut case and there was little hope of Vinesh getting a favourable outcome. After two deferments, the judgement was leaked to the media on Wednesday, two days ahead of its scheduled announcement. 

The uneasy delay fuelled artificial hopes of a positive ruling but CAS knew any retrospective resolution in favour of the athlete would open the proverbial Pandora's box. Every athlete, who may have been declared ineligible under the existing rules, would have come knocking on the doors of CAS. While it hurts to have lost an assured silver medal, the very least, the decision, it must be emphasised, is fair.           

Now that the suspense is over, it's time for India to introspect as a sporting nation or at least a nation that aspires to become one. As unfortunate as Vinesh's disqualification was, it was equally deplorable to see people with little or no knowledge of the rules of the game, but loads of political agenda, chip in with their two bit and further muddy the water. Unlike politics, sport is governed by rules and everyone will/should adhere to them. Though there have been opinions dime a dozen on social media, suggesting that lack of India's pull was the reason the verdict went against Vinesh, they would do well to know that a couple of days ago, American gymnast Jordan Chiles was stripped of her bronze for violating the one-minute window for appeal. The Americans were late by a mere four seconds while lodging their appeal. 

That's the nature of the beast. If 100 gms are too heavy in one person's case, four seconds can be too late in someone else's.

Another unwanted fallout of this unfortunate saga is the vitriol aimed at Indian Olympic Association President PT Usha. Her fault was that she spoke the truth while calling out the needless criticism aimed at the IOA medical team, headed by Dinshaw Pardiwala, a renowned orthopedic surgeon. Usha wasn't wrong when she pointed out that the management of weight was the sole responsibility of athletes and their respective support teams. In this case,  Vinesh and her team. How on earth can Pardiwala be held responsible for Vinesh's failure to shed a few extra grams of weight when the Mumbai doctor, who performed surgery on star India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, was roped in just a few weeks before the Olympics?

Athletes know their bodies. The coaches and trainers know their athletes' bodies. All of them know the weight-loss regimen. That's what Aman Sehrawat did ahead of his bronze-medal match, losing nearly 4.6 kgs. That's what Vinesh and her team tried in the night leading up to the gold-medal match. The 29-year-old lost most of her 2-plus kg weight she had gained through the first day of her three bouts but ran out of time before she could get her weight within permissible limits. Indian authorities apparently pleaded for an extra half-hour to get rid of the 100 gms of excess weight but if the Americans weren't given a four-second concession (though that was a subsequent development), what chances of getting a half-hour leeway?

Sport can't be separated from human emotions. It's, in fact, those raw emotions on the spur of the moment that make sport so dramatic and, therefore, engaging. The outcome of a competition, however, should be looked at dispassionately. Win or lose, the verdict should be taken in the spirit of the game. Though not all results are above suspicion, it all evens out in the long run.