Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar have expressed support for Vinesh Phogat after her disqualification from the Paris Olympics, with Vinesh appealing for a joint silver medal.
New Delhi: Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly expressed his support for wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Sunday, stating that she deserves at least a silver medal for making it to the 50kg freestyle final at the Paris Olympics.
The 29-year-old Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the gold-medal bout after being 100 grams overweight in the morning weigh-in, shattering her Olympic dreams. This setback led her to announce her retirement from wrestling.
“I don’t know the exact rule, but I’m sure that when she reached the finals, she must have qualified properly,” Ganguly told reporters when asked for his opinion on the matter on the sidelines of the Kolkata Food Festival here.
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“So when you go to the finals, it’s either a gold or silver medal. Whether she was disqualified wrongfully or not, I don’t know, but she deserves the silver medal at least,” he added.
Vinesh Phogat has filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), requesting that she be granted a joint silver medal with Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez. Lopez, who initially lost to Phogat, was promoted to the final after Phogat’s disqualification.
American wrestler Sarah Hildebrandt ultimately claimed the gold medal by defeating Lopez in the final.
The decision on Vinesh’s appeal is expected to come on August 13.
Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar also voiced his support to Vinesh Phogat, highlighting the disqualification of the Indian wrestler, “defied logic and sporting sense”, and asked for rules to be revisited.