Vinesh Phogat is still waiting. Decision on Indian wrestler's appeal pushed back again

Vinesh Phogat is still waiting.

A decision on the Indian wrestler’s appeal for a shared silver medal after she was disqualified from an Olympic final for missing weight has been postponed a second time and won't come until Friday, the Wrestling Federation of India said Tuesday.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport — sport's highest court — said a judge in Paris held a hearing last Friday regarding Phogat's case against United World Wrestling and the International Olympic Committee. The CAS originally said a decision was expected by the end of the Olympics on Sunday, but the CAS granted arbitrator Annabelle Bennett more time, citing “exceptional circumstances," and pushed the deadline for a decision to Tuesday.

The federation said Tuesday the CAS has pushed its deadline back again as the wrestling-crazy nation of 1.4 billion waits.

Phogat was disqualified from the 50-kilogram women's freestyle class after weighing in at 100 grams above the limit last Wednesday. Instead of becoming India’s first woman to compete in an Olympic wrestling final, she was denied a medal. She appealed, requesting credit for the three wins she earned after weighing in successfully a day earlier.

The situation brought to light concerns about the dangers of weight cutting. The Olympics have only six weight classes, instead of 10 for other international competitions.

Phogat announced last Thursday on social media that she would retire from the sport. The post, written in Hindi, translates as: “My courage is broken, I don’t have any more strength now. Goodbye Wrestling, 2001-2024.”

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

India's Vinesh Vinesh and Cuba's Yusneylys Guzman, right, compete during their women's freestyle 50kg wrestling semifinal match, at Champ-de-Mars Arena, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

India's Vinesh Vinesh and Cuba's Yusneylys Guzman, left, compete during their women's freestyle 50kg wrestling semifinal match, at Champ-de-Mars Arena, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

India's Vinesh Vinesh, right, celebrates after defeating Cuba's Yusneylys Guzman compete during their women's freestyle 50kg wrestling semifinal match, at Champ-de-Mars Arena, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Vinesh Phogat is still waiting. Decision on Indian wrestler's appeal pushed back again

Vinesh Phogat is still waiting. Decision on Indian wrestler's appeal pushed back again

India's Vinesh Vinesh celebrates after defeating Cuba's Yusneylys Guzman during their women's freestyle 50kg wrestling semifinal match, at Champ-de-Mars Arena, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) — Germany on Saturday was still in shock and struggling to understand the suspect behind the attack in the city of Magdeburg.

Identified by local media as 50-year-old Taleb A., a psychiatry and psychotherapy specialist, authorities said he has been living in Germany for two decades. He was arrested on site after plowing a black BMW into a Christmas market crowded with holiday shoppers Friday evening, killing at least five people and wounding about 200 others.

Prominent German terrorism expert Peter Neumann posted on X that he had yet to come across a suspect in an act of mass violence with that profile.

Taleb’s X account is filled with tweets and retweets focusing on anti-Islam themes and criticism of the religion while sharing congratulatory notes to Muslims who left the faith. He also described himself as a former Muslim.

He was critical of German authorities, saying they had failed to do enough to combat the “Islamism of Europe.”

He has also voiced support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Some described Taleb as an activist who helped Saudi women flee their homeland. Recently, he seemed focused on his theory that German authorities have been targeting Saudi asylum seekers.

Neumann, the terrorism expert, wrote: “After 25 years in this ‘business’ you think nothing could surprise you anymore. But a 50-year-old Saudi ex-Muslim who lives in East Germany, loves the AfD and wants to punish Germany for its tolerance towards Islamists — that really wasn’t on my radar."

On Saturday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters: “At this point, we can only say for sure that the perpetrator was evidently Islamophobic – we can confirm that. Everything else is a matter for further investigation and we have to wait.”

An image taken from a video shows police officers arresting a suspect after car drove into a crowd at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (TNN/DPA via AP)

A person stands by flowers and candles placed outside St. John's Church near a Christmas Market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)