DC Edit | Sports rules need empathy

India’s medal tally remains at six with one silver and five bronze medals and ranks 71st among the 205 nations that participated in the Paris Olympics. With the Court of Arbitration for Sports rejecting Vinesh Phogat’s bid for a shared silver medal in the 50kg wrestling event, India will have to make do with its performance on the field, with a medal haul that was one less than at the Tokyo Olympics and no gold medal.

Now that I have taken up the cause of Vinesh Phogat after the athlete lost just 100 grams to get under 50 kg, this may come as a bitter disappointment to millions of sentimental sports fans. But rules are rules, and exceptions can only lead to more athletes being allowed to break them, especially when the weight limits are measurable and not a subjective criterion.

The Indian Olympic Association argues that the strict weight rules are too harsh on marginal differences and that this can affect athletes’ careers and their mental well-being. While there may be a more empathetic way to deal with such differences on two consecutive weigh-in days, they should be enshrined in the rules as allowances to be made.

A more valid argument is that the case of an athlete like Phogat, who is not the only one to be affected by weight rules, still qualifies for a silver medal. She qualified for the final after weighing less than 50 kg on the day of the semi-final.

It can be argued that a subsequent disqualification should not deprive an athlete who had qualified for a medal. It would have been of some benefit to the sporting community if the Phogat case had led to a possible change in the regulations that would be more understanding of athletes who do not use unfair means in competition to maintain their weight classification.

It would be pointless to pursue this further in legal terms. The IOA would be better off campaigning for a change in the rules so that athletes do not have to endure such heartbreaking situations. The pursuit of sporting excellence requires great dedication and the rule makers should recognise that.

Vinesh Phogat would of course remain a champion in everyone’s eyes and a hero to millions of sportspeople for standing up for the protection of young athletes, both boys and girls, from sexual exploitation in sports.