The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to allow wrestler Vinesh Phogat to participate in the 2026 Asian Games selection trials scheduled for May 30-31.
A bench led by Justice Puruchindra Kumar Kaurav observed that Phogat has already been declared ineligible to participate in domestic competitions and, therefore, no interim relief can be granted in her petition challenging the Asian Games election policy of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and a May 9 notice barring her from competing in domestic events, including the National Open Ranking Championship, till June 26.
According to the Federation’s February 25 policy and its May 6 circular, only medal winners from the 2025 Senior National Wrestling Championships, 2026 Federation Senior Cup, 2026 FIFA U-20 National Championships and 2026 National U-23 Wrestling Championships will be eligible to participate in the Asian Games selection trials, provided these tournaments are held before the trials. The May 6 notice specifically stated that past performance would not be considered.
In its notification dated May 9, FIFA charged Phogat with indiscipline and violations of anti-doping regulations. The federation said she had not completed the mandatory six-month notice period required for athletes returning from retirement under United World Wrestling’s anti-doping rules.
Read also:Undefeated: Why Vinesh Phogat won’t back down
The bench said while it was appreciated that Phogat was on maternity leave, on the other hand, the national interest also had to be considered.
“For interim relief, there is hardly any time. It has already been held ineligible; how can we give you this relief without hearing the other party? Unnecessarily, there is no sense in allowing you to participate and then telling you that it was void,” the bench told Phogat’s lawyer, Rajshekar Rao.
“Mr Rao, in this case, politics has to be considered. Competing interest, we appreciate that one has to go through the situation that the petitioner went through, but at the same time, it has to be national interest…so, let them file a reply. We will look into it,” she added.
This came after Rao urged the court to allow his client to participate in the selection trials scheduled for May 30 and 31.
He said that while in April she was allowed to register for the Senior Open Classification Tournament held in Gonda on May 10 and 11 for senior wrestlers, she received a notice on May 9, a day before the event, and was subsequently barred from participating upon arrival at the venue.
Rao stressed that the tournament was her only opportunity this year to prove her abilities. He also stated that the rehabilitation period coincided with her notified sabbatical period, return to training period, pregnancy-related break, and post-partum recovery.
However, the court allowed Phogat to file a comprehensive response to the May 9 notice and asked WFI to make a final decision on the notice before the court hears the petition on July 6.
“Mr. Rao submits that on May 9, a show cause notice was issued to the petitioner by the WFI. The petitioner was given time to file a comprehensive response to the show cause notice. The WFI is in the meantime directed to take a final decision on the show cause notice before the date of the next hearing,” the court said.
It also issued a notice to the Center and WFI and the Indian Olympic Federation responded to Phogat’s petition.
Phogat said on May 3 that she was among the six female wrestlers who filed sexual harassment complaints against former WFI president Brij Bhushan Charan Singh. Along with Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, she was one of the leading faces of the 36-day protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in April-May 2023 against Singh.
