Sachin Tendulkar backs Vinesh Phogat's CAS appeal - 'She definitely deserves a Paris Olympic silver medal'

Legendary India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has backed wrestler Vinesh Phogat's bid to get a silver medal after she was disqualified for being overweight in the Paris Olympics 2024 on Wednesday (Aug 7). Vinesh, competing in the 50kg freestyle category was found overweight before her gold medal match and was disqualified as a result. The wrestler has since filed a petition in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to get a joint silver medal in the event.

#VineshPhogat #Paris2024 #Olympics @WeAreTeamIndia pic.twitter.com/LKL4mFlLQq — Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) August 9, 2024

Sachin Tendulkar backs Vinesh for the 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."

"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."

"While we all wait for a verdict from the Court of Arbitration for Sport, let us hope and pray that Vinesh gets the recognition she deserves," said Tendulkar.

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The Indian wrestler on Thursday filed a petition in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after she was disqualified from the 50kg women’s freestyle wrestling gold medal match. While the verdict is expected to be out before Sunday’s closing ceremony, WION Sports editor Digvijay Singh Deo revealed the exclusive details of the petition which consisted of the following.

1. Uphold the fundamental right of athletes to their physical integrity
2. There was no fraud committed and the disqualification was against the hard work that took her to the gold match

While the hearing on the petition is expected any time, the Indian wrestler has already announced her retirement from the sport. The decision came on Thursday (Aug 8) after she returned from hospital having been admitted due to health issues.