Whole of India is with her, she's champion: Sporting fraternity on CAS dismissing Vinesh's appeal
New Delhi (PTI): The Indian sporting fraternity reacted with disappointment at the Court of Arbitration for Sport's (CAS) verdict rejecting wrestler Vinesh Phogat's appeal against her Olympic disqualification but said she will remain a champion for them.
The ad-hoc division of the CAS on Wednesday rejected Vinesh's appeal against a gut-wrenching disqualification from the Paris Olympics 50kg final for being 100gm overweight, which dashed any hopes of securing a belated silver medal.
"It's disappointing but we can't do anything about that," hockey legend PR Sreejesh, who retired after inspiring the Indian team to a second consecutive Olympic bronze medal in the Paris Games, told PTI Videos.
Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia said a medal has been snatched away from Vinesh.
"I believe your medal was snatched away in this darkness. You are shining like a diamond in the whole world today," Punia, who led a long sit-in protest along with Vinesh and Sakshi Malik accusing former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexually harassing women grapplers, posted on 'X'.
"World champion pride of Hindustan, Rustam-e-Hind Vinesh Phogat, you are the Kohinoor of the country. It's Vinesh Phogat all over the world. Those who want medals, can buy them for Rs 15 each," he wrote with a picture of Vinesh wearing several medals.
The 29-year-old Vinesh was disqualified on the morning of the women's 50kg freestyle final last week.
In her appeal, Vinesh had demanded that she be given a joint silver with Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who lost to her in the semifinals but was promoted to the summit clash following the Indian's disqualification.
The gold was claimed by American Sarah Ann Hildebrandt.
A decision on Vinesh's appeal was postponed three times. Despite extending the deadline till August 16 to announce the verdict, the decision against the star grappler came out Wednesday evening and it was a terse one-line statement.
"It is a sad news but what can we say. A sportsperson works extremely hard and if something like this happens with anyone, it hurts. For us, Vinesh is a star, will always be," said hockey player Jarmanpreet Singh.
His team-mate Amit Rohidas said "the whole of India is with her".
"She should held her head high. She is a champion for us and the country."
National wrestling coach Virendra Dahiya termed the CAS decision "unfortunate".
"It is very unfortunate and a jolt for us. We were very hopeful that the decision would be in our favour. But it is unfortunate for Indian wrestling and the country," he said.
Indian Olympic Association President PT Usha had also expressed "shock and disappointment" at the turn of events.
The body also lashed out at the "inhumane regulations" of the United World Wrestling (UWW) that fail to consider the "physiological and psychological stresses faced by athletes".
The IOA had roped in senior counsels Harish Salve and Vidushpat Singhania to help Vinesh in her case.
"The decision of the CAS was really disappointing. We were very hopeful, Vinesh worked hard the most. After the timeline was extended, we thought the arbitrator Madam was having a thought and that decision could be in our favour. But it was dismissed with a one line statement," Singhania said.
"We have to wait for the detailed order, we have to see what is written there and accordingly will take a decision regarding future course of action."
Asked what was the argument on the part of Vinesh, he said, "The UWW (wrestling world governing body) had argued that rules are rules and if it (weight category) is 50kg, you are allowed only 50kg and nothing above that.
"Our plea was on a different line that you have to see the human right aspect, there is ambiguity in the rules, no clarity on the rules. But it seems our plea has been rejected and why it was rejected will be known only when the detailed order comes."
Vinesh is expected to return home on Saturday.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
