Climbing repêchage & disqualifications

Rules for many sports are getting so complicated that laymen must grapple with information to figure out the twists and turns. Repêchage is one such curious rule. It gave wrestler Sakshi Malik her chance to grab the bronze at the Rio Olympics, and had similarly favoured Yogeshwar Dutt in London in 2012 and Sushil Kumar in Beijing in 2008.

But the disqualification of the 2012 silver medallist in the 60 kg category, the late Besik Kudukhov of Russia, for testing positive for dope has led to Dutt’s bronze being ‘upgraded’ — very belatedly.

And now that the 2012 gold winner and 2016 silver medallist Toghrul Asgarov (born in Ganja, Azerbaijan) has also been disqualified for the same reason — only for 2012 — that amazing alchemy will be at work again. Only Dutt’s medal will not turn auric as that magical transformation would be reserved for the other repêchage bronze winner in that category from 2012, the American Coleman Scott, who lost to Asgarov in the semi-final.

Ex post facto winners’ dope tests have to come clear too, of course, before any medals can turn colour, but Dutt won’t be the first or last such belated beneficiary. Thanks to repêchage rules and the time that dope test results take, no nation’s medal hauls should ever be regarded as final — not even after the conclusion of the next edition of the Olympic Games.