The Supreme Court on Friday allowed wrestler Vignesh Phogat to participate in the Asian Games selection trials starting on Saturday, even as it exempted it from the Delhi High Court’s order last week declaring the Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) policy that it refuses to consider past achievements of top players as exclusionary.
“We are intervening only reluctantly because of her background. We respect what she has gained for the country. But at the same time, we will examine the Supreme Court order as we need to iron out some loopholes,” a bench of Justices BS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe said while hearing WFI’s appeal against the Supreme Court’s May 22 order.
The Supreme Court said the IWF’s selection criteria for the Asian Games, which restricted eligibility to wrestlers who won medals in 2025 while ignoring previous performances, left no discretion for the federation to consider talented athletes like Phogat, who took a sabbatical due to maternity leave. This represents a significant departure from previous practice, she said.
The Supreme Court noted that Phogat’s exclusion from selection trials was directly related to her leave and provisional eligibility requirements. She noted that her maternity and recovery period coincided with the timing of the tournaments necessary to meet the eligibility criteria, which affected her ability to qualify for the trials.
The Supreme Court said it was concerned about the way and manner in which the Supreme Court interfered in this policy. “The Constitutional Court must know that these are national and international sports. This matter about femininity has no relevance. This kind of approach taken by the courts to intervene has created problems for other similar federations, as we have seen in football, leading to exclusion.”
Senior advocate Madhavi Divan, who appeared for Phogat alongside defenders Ritwik Prakash and Ashta Khanna, said the WFI policy represents a departure from years past when past bids of top players were considered for selection. “I may or may not qualify…but should I not be allowed to participate?”
The bench issued notice on WFI’s appeal and adjourned the matter for hearing next week. “Issue notice. In the meantime, the defendant [Phogat] He is allowed to participate in selection experiments.”
Devan said Fugate is not seeking any relief because she recently gave birth. “The authorities have described me as a national embarrassment. Not allowing them to participate would be a national embarrassment. I can show wrongdoing. I was denied a mitigation condition this year. They knew I had been unwell for the past year.”
The court told Phogat that under the rules, she was due to undergo a drug test in January this year, for which she was summoned but did not attend. The court told Devan: “You were an excellent wrestler, and for you, the country must come first. The courts will not interfere in this way and disrupt the entire schedule.” “You [Phogat] He missed doping tests, which have logical consequences for the game. Indian sports are closely associated with international sporting events. Any exclusion at this level will reflect poorly on India.”
Senior advocate D N Gobourdhan, appearing for WFI, said the Supreme Court went too far and did not see the consequences this trend would have on sports. “By May 14, we had submitted the names to the Asian Games organisers. We have not given any exemption to any player this year. She cannot outperform other players. … Women players have been winning medals in tournaments throughout last year,” Gobordhan said.
The court said that no answers could be found in court on questions of this kind. “There must be strong institutions and appropriate treatment of players.”
