Vinesh Phogat is one of the greatest wrestlers in India's rich history. She is the first Indian woman wrestler to clinch two gold medals in major international competitions for India. Vinesh won gold medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2018 Asian Games. The ace wrestler stepped into Paris to become the first Indian wrestler to win a gold medal in wrestling at Olympics.
Vinesh Phogat defeated Olympic champion, Yui Susaki and Ukraine's explosive wrestler Oksana Livach to lock horns with Cuba's Yusneylys Guzman in the semi-final. She also thrashed Guzman by a margin of 5-0, and only Sarah Hildebrandt stood between her and the gold medal. Critics across the world labelled Vinesh as the favourite, courtesy of the strong wrestlers she had beaten on her road to the final.
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However, hours before the final, the Olympic committee disqualified Vinesh Phogat because her weight was 100 grams higher than the permissible weight of 50 kg. As per the rules of the Olympics, Vinesh was also declared ineligible for a silver medal despite beating her opponent fairly in the semi-final. From all set to play a gold medal match to returning from the Paris 2024 Olympics without a medal, Vinesh announced her retirement shortly after the Olympic Committee's decision.
However, as things escalated quickly, the Indian Olympic Association came in Vinesh's support and hired four lawyers from Paris to represent the wrestler case in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). As things progressed, the Indian government appointed Harish Salve, and the move was hailed by the entire nation. With all eyes on Harish Salve, it will be interesting to see, whether he will be able to make Vinesh win her deserving silver medal or not.
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Currently, Harish Salve is the biggest advocate in the country, courtesy of the fact that he has been Solicitor General of India in the past and is a member of Queen's Counsel at the moment. With such big titles to his name, Harish Salve is indeed one of the greatest advocates in India's history. For the unversed, it's not a cakewalk to be appointed as a King's counsel for the courts of England and Wales, but Harish Salve achieved it with ease due to his brilliance. At the age of 68, he accepted Vinesh Phogat's Olympic Silver Medal case and has given her and an entire nation the hope that the wrestler will get what she deserves.
For the uninitiated, in 2017, India Today named Harish Salve in their List of 50 Most Powerful People of India, which speaks volumes about his influence. As per multiple reports, Harish Salve is India's richest advocate, with an estimated net worth of Rs. 70 crores. While Harish's fee for fighting a case differs from case to case, the esteemed lawyer's average fee for a single day is reportedly around Rs. 15 lakhs.
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The reason why the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chose Harish Salve to represent Vinesh Phogat's case in front of CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) is due to the complex cases he had fought over the years. Back in 2017, the Indian government gave Harish Salve the complex task to save Kulbhushan Jadhav from being executed by Pakistan. The lawyer charged a fee of just Rs. 1 and won everyone's respect. Harish Salve won the case at the International Court of Justice that stopped the Pakistani military from giving the death penalty to an Indian national named Kulbhushan Jadhav.
Another high-profile case that Harish Salve handled in his illustrious career was Vodafone's tax dispute case against the Indian government back in 2012. The advocate won the Rs. 1,1000 crore tax case for the telecom company after criticising the Income Tax law in the Union Budget 2012. Not only this, Harish Salve was the one, who fought Ratan Tata's legal case against Cyrus Mistry. His sharp tactics and clarifications saw Tata Sons winning the case, which resulted in the removal of Cyrus Mistry as the Executive Chairperson of Tata Sons. It's fair to say that it was a major victory for the Tata Sons and Ratan Tata personally, as it saved him and his organisation from Cyrus Mistry and his unacceptable antics.
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The esteemed lawyer, Harish Salve, married a lady named Meenakshi for the first time in his life in 1982. The couple welcomed two daughters, Saaniya and Sakshi. However, after being together for 38 years, Harish and Meenakshi parted ways in June 2020.
Months after his divorce from Meenakshi, Harish got married to Caroline Brossard. Unfortunately, their marriage ended in 2021, leaving Harish Salve alone all over again. However, on September 3, 2023, Harish Salve and Trina announced their marriage and left everyone stunned. Harish and Trina are living together and leading a happy married life.
What are your thoughts on Harish Salve fighting Vinesh Phogat's case? Let us know.
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