Paris Olympics: Denying Vinesh silver defies logic, sporting sense, says cricket legend Tendulkar

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New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS) Vinesh Phogat’s heroic redemption story which saw her qualify for the gold medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics turned its head fast as the 29-year-old was disqualified.

While the entire country awaits to hear the decision by the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) to see whether Vinesh will be awarded the silver medal that she fought tooth and nail for, one of the biggest sporting icons of India, Sachin Tendulkar took to social media to post his final thoughts on the matter ahead of the meeting.

“Time for an Umpire's Call! Every sport has rules and those rules need to be seen in context, maybe even revisited at times. Vinesh Phogat qualified fair and square for the final. Her disqualification by weight, was before the final, and hence, for her to be robbed of a deserving silver medal defies logic and sporting sense,” read the statement by Tendulkar.

Vinesh was disqualified from contention on the morning of her scheduled gold medal fight after the grappler was overweight by 100 grams. CAS agreed to hear the wrestler's appeal to be awarded a joint silver medal in the Women’s 50kg competition in the Paris Olympic Games in a meeting.

Her appeal will be represented by renowned senior counsels Harish Salve and Vidushpat Singhania before the CAS ad-hoc division.

“It would have been understandable if an athlete were to have been disqualified for ethical breaches such as the usage of performance-enhancing drugs. In that case, to not be awarded any medal and be placed last would be justifiable.

"However, Vinesh beat her opponents fairly to reach the top two. She definitely deserves a silver medal. While we all wait for a verdict from the Court of Arbitration for Sport, let us hope and pray that Vinesh gets the recognition she deserves,” Tendulkar added in his statement.

--IANS

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