Advocate Harish Salve to defend Indian wrestler

Paris: Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has engaged the legal services of Harish Salve, former Solicitor General of India, to represent Vinesh Phogat in a crucial hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) which is scheduled for today. India’s star wrestler Vinesh Phogat has appealed against her disqualification at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Initially, Phogat sought reinstatement to compete for the gold medal in the 50 kg wrestling event which was rejected by the CAS but it accepted her second plea — a request for a joint silver medal.

The verdict is expected to be pronounced later tonight. The IOA in its submission to CAS has said that the excess of 100 grams is extremely negligible (representing around 0.1 to 0.2% of the athlete’s weight) and can easily be caused by the bloating of a human body during summer weather, as the heat makes the human body retain more water, scientifically for survival purpose.

It can also be due to muscle mass increase as the athlete competed three times on the same day. It can also be caused by the food consumption of the athlete after the competitions to sustain her health and integrity for the demanding competitions.

It may be recalled that Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the final match after she weighed a mere 100 grams more in her category on Aug.7.