'What makes me afraid...': Neeraj Chopra's hard-hitting remark as CAS defers Vinesh Phogat's Olympic silver verdict
Amid the wait for CAS' verdict, Vinesh Phogat continued to find support from fellow Olympians with Neeraj Chopra being the latest entrant to the list.
Vinesh Phogat's wait continued on Saturday after the ad-hoc division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said that they would need more time to deliberate on the Indian wrestler's appeal for a silver medal against her disqualification from the women's 50kg freestyle final at the Paris Olympics 2024, and will announce the verdict on August 13. Amid the wait, Vinesh continued to find support from fellow Olympians with Neeraj Chopra, who claimed the silver in men's javelin throw in Paris, being the latest entrant to the list.
Neeraj, who became the first Indian track-and-field athlete to win back-to-back medals at the Olympics as he followed his historic gold in Tokyo with a silver in Paris in men's javelin throw, is hopeful of a positive outcome on Vinesh's plea, but also feared people of India don't forget her if the decision goes the other way.
"If she gets the medal, it would be very good. If things had not panned out the way they did, she would have had the medal. I hope she gets it because if you don't have it around your neck, that thing stays in your heart," the 26-year-old Chopra told reporters at 'India House' after a felicitation by IOC member and Reliance Foundation chairperson Nita Ambani.
"Today people might say that she is our champion but, I feel till the time one is not on the podium they will forget after a few days. Mujhe yeh darr hai bas. Agar aisa na hota, a medal wouldn't have mattered. So, I hope she gets the medal. I just hope whether she gets the medal or not, people don't forget what she did for the country," he added.
Vinesh was the favourite for the gold medal in the women's 50kg category after she scripted a sensational run on Tuesday to become the first Indian woman wrestler to reach an Olympic final. However, the 29-year-old was found overweight by 100 grams during the weigh-in on Wednesday morning ahead of the final. She was disqualified from the competition and subsequently denied a medal.
Vinesh appealed to the CAS for a joint silver medal alongside Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who had lost to the Indian but was promoted to the final as her replacement. The CAS ad-hoc division set up, especially for dispute resolution during the Games, accepted Vinesh's appeal, and the Indian virtually attended the hearing on Friday. Vinesh now awaits the final verdict from the committee, which will take place on August 13.