New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Monday refused to permit wrestler Vinesh Phogat to participate in the selection trials for the 2026 Asian Games scheduled on May 30 and 31.
A bench led by Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav observed that Phogat has already been declared ineligible to participate in domestic competitions and, therefore, no interim relief could be granted in her petition challenging the Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) Asian Games election policy and May 9 notice barring her from competing in domestic events, including the National Open Ranking tournament, until June 26.
According to WFI’s February 25 policy and its May 6 circular, only medal winners from the 2025 Senior National Wrestling Championship, the 2026 Senior Federation Cup, the 2026 U-20 National Wrestling Championship, and the U-23 National Wrestling Championship would be eligible to participate in the Asian Games trials, provided these championships were held before the trials. The May 6 notice stated that past performance would not be considered.
In its May 9 notice, WFI accused Phogat of indiscipline and violations related to anti-doping regulations. It stated that she had not completed the mandatory six-month notice period required for athletes returning from retirement under the United World Wrestling anti-doping rules.
The bench said while it appreciated Phogat was on maternity leave, the national interest needs to be looked at as well. “For the interim relief, there is hardly any time. She has already been held ineligible; how can we grant you that relief without hearing the other side? Unnecessarily, there is no point in allowing you to participate and then tell you that it was a nullity,” the bench told Phogat’s lawyer Rajshekhar Rao.
It added, “Mr Rao, in that case, the policy will have to be looked into. The competing interest, we appreciate that one has to undergo the situation that the petitioner has undergone, but at the same time, the national interest will have to be…Therefore, let them file a reply. We will consider it.”
This was after Rao urged the court to allow his client to participate in the selection trials.
He argued that though she was permitted in April to register for the Gonda tournament held on May 10 and 11, she was served a notice on May 9, a day before the event, and subsequently barred from participation on reaching the venue.
Rao contended that the tournament was the only opportunity for Phogat this year to prove her capabilities. He also submitted that the qualification window coincided with her notified sabbatical, return-to-training period, pregnancy-related break, and post-partum recovery.
The court, however, permitted Phogat to file a comprehensive response to the May 9 notice and asked WFI to take a final decision on it before the court hears the petition next on July 6.
The court also issued notice to the Centre, WFI and the Indian Olympic Association seeking response in Phogat’s petition.
Phogat recently revealed that she was among the six women wrestlers who lodged sexual harassment complaints against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Alongside Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, she was one of the leading faces of the 36-day protest held at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in April and May 2023 against Singh.
