Law & Justice
Delhi High Court Presses WFI on Vinesh Phogat's Eligibility for World Championship Trials
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to clarify its position on whether wrestler Vinesh Phogat would be allowed to compete in the selection trials for the 2026 Senior World Wrestling Championship, set for Monday, and whether it would delay a final ruling in ongoing disciplinary proceedings against her.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma instructed WFI's counsel to obtain instructions on both matters, scheduling the next hearing for Thursday. "Take instructions on both the matters. I will hear them tomorrow," the judge told the federation's lawyer.
The court's direction came during the hearing of two applications filed by Phogat through her advocates, Ashita Khanna and Ritwik Prakash. The first sought an expedited hearing of her petition challenging disciplinary action initiated against her following show-cause notices that accused her of indiscipline, anti-doping violations, and misconduct during the 2026 Asian Games selection trials.
In the second application, Phogat contested a WFI circular issued on September 7 that laid out eligibility criteria for the World Championship selection trials, which will determine India's representation at the event in Astana, Kazakhstan, from October 24 to November 1. The trials themselves are scheduled for September 14 at the Indira Gandhi Stadium.
According to the circular, only medal winners from the 2025 Senior National Wrestling Championship, the 2026 Senior Open Ranking Tournament in Gonda, the 2026 U23 National Wrestling Championship, and the 2026 Federation Cup, along with wrestlers currently training at the National Coaching Camp or selected for the 2026 U20 World Wrestling Championship, are eligible to compete. Phogat argued that she does not meet any of these criteria, resulting in her exclusion from the trials.
During the proceedings, Phogat's counsel, Rajshekhar Rao, told the court that although September 29 had been set as the next hearing date for her petition on the disciplinary matter, WFI had since issued a notice calling for the disciplinary hearing to take place on September 9, describing it as a final opportunity. Rao stated that Phogat was willing to take part in the proceedings but asked the court to prevent the disciplinary committee from issuing a final decision in the meantime.
Rao also pointed to the September 7 circular, saying it effectively barred Phogat from the upcoming trials. "My maternity cannot come in the way of my eligibility to participate. I'm not asking for a free pass," he told the court.
WFI's counsel countered that Phogat had been given five opportunities to appear before the disciplinary committee but declined to attend the hearing scheduled for September 2, citing her pending writ petition. He argued that she was deliberately avoiding the process and should not now be seeking the court's intervention.
This is not the first time the court has weighed in on Phogat's eligibility. On May 22, the Delhi High Court had allowed her to participate in earlier selection trials, ruling that WFI's criteria for the Asian Games—which limited eligibility to wrestlers who had won medals in 2025—was exclusionary. The court noted that the criteria left no room for the federation to account for experienced athletes like Phogat, who had taken a break due to maternity leave, and represented a departure from past practice.
The court had observed that Phogat's exclusion was directly tied to her sabbatical and the temporary nature of the eligibility rules, noting that her maternity leave and recovery period overlapped with the championships required to meet the criteria, thereby affecting her qualification.
Phogat has previously stated that she was among six women wrestlers who filed sexual harassment complaints against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Along with Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, she was a prominent figure in the 36-day protest held at Delhi's Jantar Mantar in April and May 2023 against Singh.
In a related development, a Delhi trial court on August 3, 2026, acquitted Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of all charges of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation.