Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday said it is painful that wrestler Vinesh Phogat missed a medal at the Paris Olympic Games after she was disqualified for being found 100gram overweight ahead of her final bout.
Mann also emphasised that coaches and staff are duty-bound to maintain wrestlers’ weight under the prescribed norms as they get “hefty salaries” from the public exchequer.
Vinesh’s hopes of securing a belated Olympic silver medal were dashed on Wednesday when the ad hoc division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected her appeal against her disqualification from the final for being 100gm overweight. Vinesh, 29, 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.
