11 August,2024 09:25 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Sourav Ganguly (Pic: File Pic)
Former Team India captain Sourav Ganguly extended his support to wrestler Vinesh Phogat by saying that she deserves at least a silver medal.
After sealing the final berth in the women's wrestling 50kg category of the Paris Olympics 2024, Vinesh Phogat was disqualified for being overweight. It is said that she was 100 grams overweight in the morning which crushed her dream to win an Olympic gold.
Following the disqualification, the 29-year-old wrestler announced her retirement.
"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.
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Vinesh has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), demanding that she be awarded a joint silver medal with Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who had lost to the Indian but was later promoted to the final following the Haryana wrestler's disqualification.
American Sarah Hildebrandt won the gold after defeating Lopez in the title clash.
India's batting great Sachin Tendulkar also showed his support to the wrestler by saying, "defied logic and sporting sense", and asked for rules to be revisited.
The CAS is yet to announce the decision on Vinesh Phogat's appeal and it is expected to come on August 13. India ended their Paris Olympics 2024 campaign with a medal tally of six which includes five bronze and one silver medal.
The only silver medal in India's tally was won by star javelin throw athlete Neeraj Chopra. Ace India shooter Manu Bhaker also won two bronze medals in two different events.
(With PTI Inputs)
