Delhi High Court clears wrestler Vinesh Phogat for Asian Games selection trials

The Delhi High Court on Friday (May 22) permitted Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat to take part in the Asian Games 2026 selection trials, set to be held on May 30 and 31. Phogat had earlier been ruled ineligible under revised criteria introduced this year by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), which differed from the federation’s previous selection norms. In addition, she had been restricted from competing in WFI events until Jun 26 after a show-cause notice was issued to her on May 9.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia observed that Phogat should be allowed to compete “in the interest of sport and justice.”

“It is necessary that (Phogat) is permitted to participate in the Selection Trials in the interest of sport and justice. In view of the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case, it is clear that, except for (Phogat’s) motherhood and the SCN issued by WFI, she would be entitled to participate in the Selection Trials. Therefore, the circumstances were beyond her control… it is deemed appropriate to protect the interest of (Phogat) by permitting her to participate in the Selection Trials,” a division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia held.

The court further ordered that the selection trials to be video-recorded and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports should appoint two independent observers, one each from the Sports Authority of India and the Indian Olympic Association, to oversee the trials and submit their findings to the court.

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Phogat had stepped away from competition in Dec 2024 due to maternity reasons. Although the international wrestling body cleared her eligibility to compete from 1 Jan, 2026, the WFI prevented her participation and through its show-cause notice, accused her of indiscipline while calling her failure to make weight at the 2024 Paris Olympics a “national embarrassment.”

The High Court also remarked that the revised selection policy represented a sharp deviation from earlier practices, where the federation had powers to consider prominent athletes for the Asian Games even if they had not met standard participation requirements.

“…the Policy and the Circular are clearly exclusionary in nature as it does not give any discretion to (WFI) to consider iconic players like Phogat in view of the sabbatical taken on account of her maternity leave. It is a well-recognised principle of law that due to maternity, a woman cannot be prejudiced in any manner in terms of her employment, career, ranking and promotion during the period of maternity leave,” the bench reiterated.

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In its order, released publicly on Saturday, the court also criticised the WFI’s remarks regarding Phogat’s Paris Olympics campaign. The bench observed that such comments were inappropriate, especially after the Court of Arbitration for Sport had already ruled that there was no wrongdoing on her part.

“Such observations made in the SCN despite the Award issued by CAS, which clearly held that there was no wrongdoing on her part, appear to be pre-mediated and are ex facie misconceived and ought to have been avoided. Such observations are retrograde and show the malafide intent of (WFI) by being vindictive against (Phogat),” the bench observed.

“In the present case, (Phogat’s) exclusion from the Selection Trials is directly attributable to the sabbatical and temporary retirement from her sporting activities. The duration of her maternity and recovery from the same coincided with the schedule of the Championships, which were required to be participated in for meeting the eligibility criteria for the Selection Trials of the Asian Games, 2026, in accordance with the Policy and the Circular,” the bench said.

The bench also recorded that Phogat had informed the International Testing Agency, United World Wrestling and the Sports Authority of India about her sabbatical and had received confirmation on 3 Jul, 2025, that she would be eligible to compete again from 1 Jan, 2026.