The former Solicitor General of India, who had been appointed by the IOA along with senior lawyer Vidushpat Singhania for Phogat’s CAS hearing, also revealed that there was “complete lack of co-ordination” initially.
read more
Vinesh Phogat had recently
criticised the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and its president PT Usha for not supporting her more after she was
disqualified from the women’s wrestling 50kg event in the Paris Olympics and playing politics instead.
However, senior advocate
Harish Salve recently revealed that Phogat herself did not wish to “carry this any further” after her appeal against her disqualification was
dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Former Solicitor General of India Salve had been appointed by the IOA along with senior lawyer Vidushpat Singhania for Phogat’s hearing in Paris, where the Lausanne-based body had set up an ad-hoc committee to resolve disputes arising from the Olympic Games that took place between 26 July and 11 August.
Speaking to Times Now, the 69-year-old revealed there was “complete lack of co-ordination” initially, and that Phogat herself did not want to carry it any further after the CAS struck down her appeal.
“There was a complete lack of coordination, lack of cohesion for quite some time initially. That’s because the very good law firm which had been engaged by the Indian Olympic Association was told by some lawyers who the athlete had engaged that ‘we will not share anything with you, we will not give anything to you. It was very late we got everything.
“Later on, we got everything and we fought hard. In fact, I even offered the lady that maybe we can challenge it in the Swiss court of appeal against the arbitration award but I was told by the lawyers my impression is she didn’t want to carry this any further,” Salve said.
After winning all three bouts on 6 August to become the first Indian female wrestler to qualify for an Olympic final, Phogat was found to be overweight by a matter of 100 grams during her weigh-in the following morning.
The two-time world championships bronze medallist failed to pass the weight check despite
resorting to drastic measures such as cutting her hair, starvation and even drawing blood out of her body.
With her hopes of winning India’s maiden Olympic gold dashed, a
heartbroken Phogat announced her retirement from wrestling a day after her disqualification.
Shortly after her return to India, Phogat entered the world of politics
by joining Congress along with fellow wrestler Bajrang Punia, who had won bronze in the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. Phogat is expected to contest the upcoming assembly elections in Haryana from the Julana.


