Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha on Sunday pointed the finger at Vinesh Phogat in response to the criticism directed towards the IOA medical team, especially Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala, saying that in sports like wrestling, weightlifting, boxing and judo, it is the responsibility of the athlete to manage their weight.

Usha's comment came in the wake of India's wait for a verdict from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), where Vinesh appealed for a joint silver medal after being disqualified ahead of her gold-medal bout on Wednesday in women's 50kg freestyle for being 100 grams overweight in the morning weigh-in.

While the development in Paris left the 29-year-old, who last Tuesday became the first Indian woman wrestler to make an Olympic final, heartbroken as she announced her retirement a day later, it sparked a blame game back in India. A few sections in the Parliament accused Dr Pardiwala and his team of negligence, while former IOA chief Narendra Batra alleged that Vinesh's diet might have had something to do with her disqualification.

"...the responsibility of weight management of athletes in sport like wrestling, weightlifting, boxing and judo is that of each athlete and his or her coach and NOT that of the IOA-appointed Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala and his team," Usha said in a statement. "The hate directed at the IOA medical team, especially Dr. Pardiwala, is unacceptable and worthy of condemnation."

She further clarified that most athletes have their own support staff, and the IOA-appointed medical team, which was formed only a few months before the Paris Games, was only designed to help players recover and manage injuries.

"Each Indian athlete in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in such sport had his or her own support team. These support teams have been working with the athletes over so many years," Usha said. "The IOA appointed a medical team a couple of months ago, primarily as a team that would assist in the recovery and injury management of athletes during and after their competition. This team was also designed to support athletes who did not have their own team of nutritionists and physiotherapists."

The CAS will announce its final verdict on Vinesh's plea on August 13.

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