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India's star athlete Neeraj Chopra has thrown his weight behind Vinesh Phogat after her disqualification from the Paris 2024 Olympics. Chopra's comment comes ahead of the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) with regard to Phogat's appeal against the disqualification.
The appeal made by Vinesh Phogat and her legal team is for the CAS to consider awarding the 29-year-old wrestler with a joint silver medal. The hearing of her appeal was conducted on Friday, August 9, and a decision is expected to be made on August 13.
Speaking ahead of the decision, Neeraj Chopra expressed his wish to see Phogat get the silver medal. The javelin silver medalist said the country usually forgets athletes who do not reach the podium.
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"All of us know that if she gets the medal it will be really good. She would have got the medal if such a situation did not arise. If we get the medal, people remember us for some time and say we are their champions but if we don't get the medal, they forget us as well," Chopra said (via ANI).
The 26-year-old also made an appeal to the nation, requesting everyone to not forget what Vinesh Phogat did for India at the Paris Olympics. Regardless of the decision of the CAS, Chopra said her achievement should not be forgotten.
"I just want to request people to not forget what Vinesh has done for the country. If the people don't forget her, then it does not matter if she has the medal or not," he added.
Vinesh Phogat's dream for Paris Olympics 2024 medal lies in the hands of CAS
Both Phogat and the nation were left in anguish after her disqualification ahead of the women's 50 kg final in Paris. However, with the wrestler raising an appeal with the CAS, the entire country is hanging onto a glimmer of hope.
CAS' hearing of Vinesh Phogat's case lasted for three hours on August 9. The Indian wrestler's team argued that Phogat should be awarded a joint silver. They backed their argument by saying that the 29-year-old had not committed any fraud.
The decision of the hearing was expected to be announced on August 10, but it has now been deferred to Sunday, August 11.
