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‘Why should wrestling suffer?’: Delhi HC pulls up WFI over Vinesh Phogat’s exclusion from 2026 Asian Games
The Delhi high court questioned why the sport should suffer because of ongoing disputes within the wrestling administration.
The Delhi high court on Friday pulled up the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) over its decision to declare wrestler Vinesh Phogat “ineligible” to participate in domestic competitions and asked the Centre to constitute an expert panel to assess her case.
Hearing Phogat’s appeal against a single-judge order passed on May 18, a bench comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia questioned the federation’s stand and observed that its departure from the earlier practice of allowing reputed athletes to compete “speaks volumes,” reported news agency PTI.
The court directed the Centre to ensure that Phogat, who is seeking a return to wrestling after a maternity break, is allowed to participate in the selection trials for this year’s Asian Games scheduled for May 30 and 31.
‘Motherhood is celebrated’
The bench also underlined that motherhood is celebrated in the country and said the federation should not act with “vengeance”.
During the hearing, the government counsel informed the court that the Sports Authority of India framework allows relaxation of eligibility norms in certain cases. Following this, the bench orally observed, “Ask the experts to evaluate her chances.. Ensure that she participates,” the PTI report added.
The court said it would take up the matter again at 2.30 pm to allow the Centre to provide further details regarding the constitution of the expert panel.
Earlier, the bench had remarked, “Whatever may be the feud or dispute, why should the cause of wrestling suffer?” while questioning the WFI’s decision to bar Vinesh Phogat from domestic wrestling events.
What the HC has observed earlier
Earlier on Monday the high court had refused to permit Phogat to participate in the upcoming Asian Games selection trials scheduled for May 30 and 31.
A bench headed by Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav noted that the wrestler had already been declared “ineligible” to compete in domestic tournaments, and therefore no interim relief could be granted on her plea challenging the WFI Asian Games selection policy and its May 9 notice.
The notice barred her from participating in domestic events, including the National Open Ranking tournament, till June 26.
Under the WFI’s February 25 selection policy and a May 6 circular, 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 trials, provided the events were held before the trials. The May 6 circular also made it clear that past performances would not be taken into account.
In its May 9 notice, the WFI accused the wrestler of indiscipline and alleged violations linked to anti-doping rules. The federation claimed she had 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.
The bench had observed that while it recognised Phogat was on maternity leave, the larger national interest in the sport also had to be taken into consideration.
The court allowed Vinesh Phogat to submit a detailed reply to the WFI’s May 9 show-cause notice and directed the federation to take a final decision on the matter before the next hearing on July 6.
The bench also issued notices to the Centre, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and the Indian Olympic Association on Phogat’s petition.
Earlier this month, Vinesh Phogat had said she was among the six women wrestlers who filed sexual harassment complaints against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Along with Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, she had emerged as one of the prominent faces of the 36-day protest held at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in April and May 2023 against Singh.
