"Weight management a responsibility of athlete, coach....": IOA president PT Usha

Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha (Pic: File Pic)

Following the disqualification of ace Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat, the Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha opened up by saying the weight management of the athletes should be the responsibility of his or her coach and athlete and not that of Chief Medical Officer Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala and his team.

PT Usha said that each Indian athlete in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in such sport had his or her own support team. These support teams have been working with the athletes over so many years, as per a statement from IOA.

The IOA appointed a medical team which will look after injuries and recovery of the athletes during and after the competition. The team was also designed to look after athletes who don't have their own team.

PT Usha said that the hate shown towards Dr Pardiwala and his team is unacceptable. Further, she stated that the ones rushing to judge the IOA medical team should consider the facts before arriving at any conclusions.

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This statement came out after Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the finals of the women's 50 kg category due to being overweight by 100 grams.

Following the matter, the wrestler appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to award her a joint silver medal. The decision is expected to be made by August 13.

According to a statement from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), CAS has extended the time for the final verdict till Tuesday, August 13, 6:00 PM Paris time and 9:30 PM IST.

"The ad hoc division of CAS has extended time for the Sole Arbitrator Hon Dr Annabelle Bennett in the Vinesh Phogat vs. United World Wrestling & the International Olympic Committee matter to give a decision till 6-00 p.m. on August 13, 2024," the IOA said in its statement on Saturday.

The reference to August 11 (Sunday) in the earlier communication sent by IOA was for the time given to all parties to present any additional documents before the sole arbitrator.

Reacting to the extension, Indian wrestling legend Mahavir Phogat, Vinesh's uncle, said, "It has been three days since we have been waiting. Whenever the decision is out, we will be happy."

CAS has established an ad hoc division in Paris, led by President Michael Lenard from the US, to handle Olympic cases. This division operates within the Paris judicial court in the 17th arrondissement.

After being disqualified from the Paris Olympics 2024, Vinesh Phogat also announced her retirement from wrestling. She took to X by saying, "Maa kushti (wrestling) won against me, I lost. Forgive me, your dream and my courage have been broken. I don't have any more strength now. Goodbye Wrestling 2001-2024. I will always be indebted to you all for forgiveness."

In her distinguished career, Vinesh secured two World Championships bronze medals (2019 and 2022), an Asian Games gold (2018) and bronze (2014), and three Commonwealth Games gold medals (2014, 2018, 2022). She also won gold in the Asian Championships (2021) and has earned silver and bronze at the continental level.

(With ANI Inputs)