The suspense of Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision on Vinesh Phogat’s appeal for Olympic silver continues. Earlier, it was said that the verdict would come by Saturday, 9:30PM IST. It has now been deferred. In a chaotic turn of events on Satturday, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) first stated that the verdict will be out on Sunday (August 11) before issuing a clarification to say that the outcome will be known by August 13.  Vinesh Phogat had appealed in the CAS against her disqualification from the women’s 50kg free-style final of the Olympic Games for being 100 gram overweight.

An initial statement by the IOA said: “The ad hoc division of CAS has extended time till 6-00 p.m. on August 11, 2024, for the Sole Abritator Hon. Dr Annabelle Bennett in the Vinesh Phogat vs. United World Wrestling & the International Olympic Committee to issue a decision. The reasoned order will be issued at a later date.”

Later, the CAS released a fresh statement saying  the time limit for the panel to give a verdict was August 13. “By Application of Article 18, of the CAS Arbitration rules for the Olympic Games, the president of the CAS Ad Hoc Division extends the time limit for the panel to give a decision until 13 August 2024 at 18h00 (Paris Time),” the CAS said in a release.

Then the IOA also issued a fresh statement. saying: “The ad-hoc division of CAS has extended time for the Sole Arbitrator Hon. Dr Annabelle Bennett in the Vinesh Phogat vs. United World Wrestling & the International Olympic Committee matter to give a decision till 6-00 p.m. on August 13, 2024.

“The reference to August 11 in the earlier communication sent by me was to the time given to all parties to present any additional documents before the Sole Arbitrator.”

Meanwhile, Japanese Olympic champion Rei Higuchi offered his support to Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who was debarred from her final in the Paris Games for being 100gm above the prescribed limit. Higuchi, the gold-medallist in men’s 57kg freestyle event, was eliminated from the qualifiers of the Tokyo Olympics three years ago for being overweight by just 50gm. He eventually even lost a playoff bout and could not compete in his home Olympics despite being highly rated even at that time. 

“I understand your pain the best. Same 50g. Don’t worry about the voices around you. Life goes on. Rising from setbacks is the most beautiful thing. Take a good rest,” Higuchi, who defeated India’s Aman Sehrawat in the 57kg freestyle category semifinals en route his gold, wrote on X while commenting on Vinesh’s retirement announcement.

Before his gold in Paris, Higuchi had won a silver in the 2016 Rio Games.

“I have passed through a setback and despair, but I managed to succeed by believing myself. Still, I don’t think I could’ve won the gold medal with my efforts alone,” Higuchi was quoted as saying by ‘Japan News’ as he looked back at the Tokyo debacle for which he blamed his fondness for junk food at that time.

With PTI inputs

An employee of a popular coffee chain in Bengaluru hid a mobile phone in the women’s restroom, with the “video recording on for about two hours”. The incident occurred at the Third Wave Coffee outlet on BEL Road in the city.

An Instagram handle, ‘Gangs Of Cinepur’, shared a story on their account, where a user narrated what happened at the outlet. “I was at the Third Wave Coffee outlet in Bengaluru… A woman found a phone in the washroom, hidden in the dustbin, with video recording on for about 2 hours, facing the toilet seat. It was in flight mode so that it makes no sound,” the story read.

“The phone was carefully hidden in the dustbin bag and had a hole made in it so that only the camera was exposed. It was quickly found that the phone belonged to one of the men working there. The police were called, and they arrived soon enough, and action is being taken,” it added.

“This was so horrific to witness. I will be vigilant at any washroom I use from now on, no matter how well-known the chain of cafes or restaurants is. I request all of you to do the same. This is disgusting,” the story posted on the Instagram handle read.

Third Wave Coffee responded to the incident and said, “We regret the unfortunate incident at our BEL Road outlet in Bengaluru and want to emphasize that such actions are absolutely unacceptable at Third Wave Coffee.”

We regret the unfortunate incident at our BEL Road outlet in Bengaluru and want to emphasize that such actions are absolutely unacceptable at Third Wave Coffee. We acted swiftly to address the situation by immediately terminating the person & ensuring the safety of our customers.

— Third Wave Coffee (@thirdwaveindia) August 10, 2024

“We acted swiftly to address the situation by immediately terminating the person & ensuring the safety of our customers,” the popular coffee chain which has outlets pan-India, said in their response.

The police confirmed that the accused had been arrested under the IT Acts. The man is in his early twenties and hails from Bhadrawati in Karnataka.