'Disqualification defies logic, Vinesh deserves silver': Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar

Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar on Friday threw his weight behind Vinesh Phogat saying the disqualification of the Indian wrestler, ahead of her gold-medal bout at the Paris Olympics, "defied logic and sporting sense, and asked for rules to be revisited.

Competing in the 50kg category, Vinesh was disqualified after being found 100gm overweight during the morning weigh-in, following which she appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), demanding that she be awarded a joint silver medal.

In a post on X, Tendulkar said that Vinesh was robbed of a deserving silver medal. "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 finals. Her disqualification by weight, was before the finals, and hence, for her to be robbed of a deserving silver medal defies logic and sporting sense," Tendulkar wrote.

Also Read: Decision on awarding silver medal to Phogat to be taken before end of Olympics

"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."

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