Mumbai: Even as wrestler Vinesh Phogat awaits the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding her disqualification from the Paris Olympic finals for being 100 grams over the permissible weight, her legal counsel in India has taken to social media to share details of what transpired after the disqualification.
Senior lawyer Rahul Mehra, who represents Phogat in India, has claimed that the Indian government only took action after pro bono lawyers in France had already represented Phogat before the CAS. Mehra, citing “well-placed sources,” asserted that if Phogat had relied solely on the Indian government, she would not have had the opportunity to present her case before the court.
Mehra’s statement was made just hours before the CAS ad-hoc division is scheduled to announce its decision on the appeal filed by Phogat. The ad-hoc division of the CAS is expected to pass the ruling by 9:30 PM IST today, August 10.
According to Mehra’s post on X (formerly Twitter), the Indian government did not act until the evening of August 8, a full two days after Phogat was disqualified from the finals. Mehra wrote: “…The next day, viz., Thursday, when the incident gained widespread attention across India, and the IOA along with the Government of India was seen as having not acted at all, the lawyers in Paris seem to have advised the IOA that they could file an amicus brief as an interested party in the case… Through media reports, it is believed that Mr. (Harish) Salve was engaged in this case by the IOA (Indian Olympic Association) only late on Thursday, likely to manage the uncomfortable narrative.”
After speaking with extremely reliable sources in India and in Paris, the following seems to have happened once @Phogat_Vinesh was weighed-in and subsequently disqualified at the Paris Olympic.
AdvertisementSequence leading up to filing of the CAS appeal and who actually filed it👇
(1/n)
— Rahul Mehra (@TheRahulMehra) August 10, 2024
On August 9, Phogat’s case was heard before the CAS. Phogat and the IOA had initially appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, seeking a new weigh-in and for Phogat to be allowed to compete in the final. However, due to the lack of time for CAS’s ad-hoc division to hear the case, Phogat later requested that the international court award her a joint silver medal. In this instance, Phogat was represented by pro bono lawyers from a panel established during the games to assist athletes, as Mehra pointed out.
Mehra has been representing wrestlers Phogat, Bajrang Punia, and others in a writ petition filed earlier this year before the Delhi high court, challenging the fresh elections held for the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) in December 2023. Phogat, Punia, and Sakshi Malik – all three Olympian wrestlers – have been at the forefront of seeking legal action against the federation’s former president, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexually harassing and threatening female athletes for over a decade. Although Singh was forced to step down under pressure, the federation appointed Sanjay Singh, a close aide of Singh, as the new president. The writ petition challenges this appointment.
During the Delhi high court hearing two days ago, Mehra stated that the WFI and its president, Sanjay Singh, were making decisions on Phogat’s behalf at the Olympic Village, even though the WFI’s elected executive committee was suspended by the Union sports ministry in 2023.
