The Delhi High Court has handed a major relief to superstar Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat, as they have allowed her to compete in the Asian Games 2026 trials that will be held on May 30 and 31. Phogat had been barred by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to compete in any events for the near future till June 26. The court pulled up the national wrestling body and questioned this decision. They even called the WFI 'vindictive' in nature.
The Delhi High Court had earlier pulled up the WFI over its decision to declare Vinesh Phogat ineligible for domestic events. The court ordered the centre to set up an expert committee to ensure her participation in the selection trials. The court said that wrestling should not suffer because of the ongoing dispute.
“Ask the experts to evaluate her chances.. Ensure that she participates,” the court orally said
The court was hearing a plea by Phogat against a single-judge order that denied interim relief to the wrestler, saying that she has already been declared eligible.
WFI, in a circular, said that only medal winners from the 2025 Senior National Wrestling Championship, 2026 Senior Federation Cup, 2026 Under-20 National Wrestling Championship and Under-23 National Wrestling Championship would be eligible for the Asian Games selection, while also confirming that past performances won't be considered.
For Phogat, who was on maternity leave during the 2025 Nationals and has not competed professionally since her heartbreaking disqualification for being 100 grams overweight at the Paris 2024 Olympics, these rules acted as an insurmountable barrier.
On May 9, WFI accused Vinesh of violating the anti-doping rules, claiming she failed to complete the mandatory six-month notice period required for athletes seeking a return from retirement under United World Wrestling’s anti-doping regulations.
Vinesh had given a written reply to the WFI on the show-cause notice and accepted that there was mistake on her side that she missed a test. But she confirmed she had informed the ITA (International Testing Agency) earlier about the missed test in December last year. She had said if there was any deviation from facts in her reply, then the WFI could take action against her, pleading to allow her compete in the National Open Ranking tournament. However, she had to move to the court when she was given no relief.
The court showed displeasure at the notice and questioned why it should not be presumed that the WFI changed the selection criteria only because of Vinesh Phogat.
“She became a mother in July 2025. We are in May. She is a wrestler of international repute. Why can’t it be presumed that you changed it (selection criteria) for her. Whatever may be the feud or dispute, why should the cause of sports suffer? Motherhood is celebrated in the country, should it come to the detriment of a person?” the court orally remarked.
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