Lucknow: Days after it made it clear that the seasoned Vinesh Phogat will not be eligible to compete for a berth at the Asian Games this year, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Saturday made the double Worlds medallist ineligible to make her competitive return after 18 months at the Senior Open Ranking Tournament in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh.
The WFI has instead issued a 15-page showcause notice to Phogat a day ahead of competition. It seeks her response for various issues, in particular the Paris Olympics fiasco where she failed to make the weight on the morning of her 50kg final and was disqualified. Her appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was rejected.
The 2018 Asian Games champion had retired after the Paris Games and is only bidding to make her competitive return after announcing the comeback in December.
WFI on Saturday declared her ineligible to compete in domestic events until June 26 as she has not completed the mandatory six-month period since giving notice of her comeback from retirement. It is a requisite under the world body UWW’s anti-doping rules to become part of the Registered Testing Pool.
Phogat, 31, last competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics where she was disqualified at the weigh-in for the final for being over the permissible weight by 100gm. Having announced her retirement after that, she became a mother. Having entered the 50kg division at the Games, Phogat had entered the 57kg in Gonda.
{{/usCountry}}Phogat, 31, last competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics where she was disqualified at the weigh-in for the final for being over the permissible weight by 100gm. Having announced her retirement after that, she became a mother. Having entered the 50kg division at the Games, Phogat had entered the 57kg in Gonda.
{{/usCountry}}The wrestling body had on Wednesday ruled out only Phogat’s entry in the selection trials for the Asian Games by pointing out that only medallists at the 2025 Senior Nationals, and the 2026 Federation Cup and U-20 nationals will be eligible. An official told HT that the WFI’s policy had been published on its website in February.
On Saturday, the federation went one step further by barring Phogat’s entry at the Gonda meet. The wrestler also had a whereabouts failure on December 18 and hasn’t been tested yet, a senior WFI official had said on Wednesday. Any athlete coming out of retirement, as per the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and UWW rules, must re-enter the Registered Testing Pool and must be tested at least once within the six months before entering competition again.
The subject column of the WFI notice, signed by president Sanjay Singh, says it is for the breach of the whereabouts submission requirements of UWW and the article governing retirement and return to competition, “grave acts of indiscipline and conduct prejudicial to the interest of the sport of wrestling and the Wrestling Federation of India , including (i) failure to make weight at the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, Paris 2024 resulting in disqualification and national embarrassment”, (ii) violations of the WFI constitution, (iii) anti-doping rule violation arising from whereabouts failure(s)….” It also seeks a response from Phogat for “participation in two weight categories (50kg and 53kg) at the Selection Trials on March 11, 2024 at NIS Patiala, in violation of UWW Competition Rules…”
It said the wrestler will not be able to participate in any competition until July 26, when she will complete six months since announcing her return to competition.
The wrestler is unlikely to give her long-running battle with WFI. She had recently announced that she was one of the six complainants against former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over sexual harassment. The case is in court. Phogat, sources said, is in Delhi and discussing legal options with her lawyers. Later on Saturday, Phogat said on X: “Life is caught in some deep whirlpool’s midst. The world seeks flaws in my character, persists. Life has always held your head held high. No sword has the power to make it bow!”