The world wrestling governing body, United World Wrestling (UWW) might make slight changes to their weigh-in rules after what they noted during the Paris Olympics 2024, sources have said. While the weigh-in rules are unlikely to change altogether, some slight modifications will be made, keeping the athletes' safety and health in mind. The changes might come into effect sooner, rather than later.

The development comes even as Vinesh Phogat challenged her disqualification from the women's 50kg gold medal at the Paris Olympics after failing the weigh-in. Vinesh was found 100 grams overweight during the second weigh-in on the final morning. An ad-hoc division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) registered the appeal and heard the arguments of applicant Vinesh Phogat, the respondents United World Wrestling and the International Olympic Committee as well as IOA as an interested party.

Sole Arbitrator Dr Annabelle Bennett of Australia heard the arguments for over three hours on Saturday. While the ad-hoc division of the sports court CAS was scheduled to pronounce the verdict on Saturday, it gave an additional 24 hours for the concerned parties to provide more evidence and 72 hours for the sole arbitrator to give the verdict. The decision in Vinesh Phogat's appeal is now expected to be out on Tuesday, August 13.

Vinesh initially requested she be permitted to fight in the gold medal bout. However, the Olympic body disqualified her and allowed Cuba's Yusneylys Guzman, who lost to Vinesh in the semi-final, to fight in the gold medal bout on Wednesday. Vinesh then appealed that she should be given a joint silver medal.

Vinesh's lawyers, including senior counsels Harish Salve and Vidushpat Singhania, argued that the weight gain on Tuesday evening was due to the body's natural recovery process and that it is the athlete's fundamental right to look after his/her body. They argued her body weight was under the prescribed limit on Day 1 of the competition, and the weight gain only happened because of recovery and that's not a fraud.

DEBATE OVER WEIGH-IN RULES

Notably, the UWW allows a 2kg weight tolerance at some other major events, including the World Cup, but has a stricter policy at the Olympic Games. American wrestling great Jordan Burroughs was amongst the many who voiced their support for Vinesh. Burroughs suggested that a 1kg allowance can be permitted for the second day of the weigh-in.

UWW chief Nenad Lalovic shared his thoughts on the matter in an exclusive conversation with India Today. Lalovic empathised Vinesh but added that the rules were pre-defined and everyone had to respect them.

"We have to respect the rules. I'm so sad about what happened to her. She was overweight very small one. But the rules are rules and everything is public. All the athletes are there and it's impossible to let someone to compete who does not make the weight," Nenad Lalovic told India Today.

The shift from a one-day to a two-day weigh-in system was made to address some of the issues associated with extreme weight cutting and to improve the overall health and safety of the athletes. This change allows wrestlers more time to rehydrate and recover after the weigh-in, thus reducing the risks associated with drastic weight changes.

This change occurred after a significant amount of discussion and analysis on the impact of weigh-in procedures on athlete health and competition fairness. The UWW officially implemented the two-day weigh-in system starting in 2018.

Source: indiatoday