The Court of Arbitration for Sport issued its detailed ruling on Monday after rejecting the appeal of Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat following her disqualification from the final of the Paris Olympic Games.

The CAS stated that athletes must strictly adhere to their established weight limits and that there should be no exceptions under any circumstances.

On August 14, the CAS Ad Hoc Division dismissed Phogat’s appeal against her disqualification for exceeding the weight limit by 100 grams.

Phogat had attempted to share the silver medal with Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who advanced to the final after Phogat’s disqualification.

“The application filed by Phogat on August 7, 2024 was rejected,” the CAS court said in its decision.

Phogat was disqualified on the morning of the women’s 50kg freestyle final. Phogat initially appealed to be reinstated for the gold medal match against USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt before later changing her appeal to claim a shared silver medal.

In her appeal, she argued that the 100g excess was tolerable due to factors such as water retention, particularly during the premenstrual phase. However, the CAS confirmed that there was no doubt that she had exceeded the limit.

“There is no doubt that the applicant exceeded the weight limit. She presented the above-mentioned evidence clearly and concisely at the hearing,” the CAS stated in its reasoning.

The statement continued: “The problem for the athlete is that the rules clearly set a weight limit that applies equally to all participants. It is not allowed to exceed this limit, even in the weight of the jersey. It is the athlete’s responsibility to stay within the limit.”

The detailed report clarified that the athlete had participated in three fights on August 6, 2024, in which she was confirmed to be under the 50 kg weight limit and that there was no doubt about her eligibility to participate in those fights.

However, she appeared to have gained weight throughout the day after winning three matches in a row, including one against reigning Olympic champion Yui Susaki, to advance to the quarterfinals.

Ahead of the final, a second weigh-in took place on the morning of August 7, 2024. According to the statement, Phogat initially weighed 150 grams over the 50 kg limit.

According to the United World Wrestling’s International Wrestling Rules 2023, she was allowed to weigh herself again 15 minutes later, at which point her weight was still 100 grams over the limit.

According to rules set by United World Wrestling (UWW), the sport’s governing body, two weigh-ins take place each morning of competition day. Wrestlers must be within the weight limit to participate.

A group of four French lawyers, working pro bono, represented Phogat in its petition to the CAS, while the Indian Olympic Association was represented by Harish Salve and Vidushpat Singhania.

Dr. Annabelle Bennett of Australia presided over Phogat’s application as sole arbitrator.