The controversy over Vinesh Phogat's participation in the 2026 Asian Games trial seems to be headed towards more drama as the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has moved the Supreme Court (SC) and challenged an order from the Delhi High Court allowing Vinesh Phogat to participate in the trials for the 2026 Asian Games.
As per a report from the Press Trust of India (PTI), the matter will be heard on Friday (May 28) by a bench consisting of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe. For those unversed, the top court in Delhi had ordered Phogat to be allowed to participate in the event scheduled to take place on May 30 and 31.
The controversy revolves around Phogat's attempt at making a comeback to the sport following her decision to reverse her retirement. She attempted to compete at a ranking event in Gonda earlier this month but was not allowed by the WFI. The Federation claimed that anti-doping rules prohibit her from competing until 26th June, 2026. However, the wrestler claimed that the International Testing Agency (ITA) has granted her permission to participate from 1st January 2026.
For those unversed, the rules claim that a player who is making a return to competition after a break has to serve a mandatory six-month notice period.
Phogat moved to the Delhi HC over the matter, which criticised the WFI's actions and claimed their actions were not in the best interests of the matter. The court claimed that the governing body's ban on Phogat was exclusionary in nature.
“The appellant shall be permitted to participate in the selection trials for the Asian Games, 2026, which are scheduled for 30.05.2026 and 31.05.2026. The policy and the circular are clearly exclusionary in nature as they do not give any discretion to Respondent No.1 (WFI) to consider iconic players like the appellant in view of the sabbatical taken on account of her maternity leave,” the court said in its order, which was uploaded on Saturday.
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Aayush Kataria is a Senior Copy Editor at Times Network with four years of experience, having started his career in the organisation. He is a key memb...View More
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