NANDINI NAGAR (GONDA): Hours before Vinesh Phogat stormed into Nandini Nagar Mahavidhyalaya in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh on Monday evening to complete her verification process for the Senior Open Ranking Tournament, women cops from Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) in plain clothes were seen moving around the venue quietly gathering information. Even as their cover was blown by a few local journalists, they continued their surveillance till the two-time World Championships bronze medallist reached the venue in a car, which was flanked by two more SUVs.
Husband Somvir Rathi, two Haryana cops and a few others accompanied Vinesh as she headed straight to a makeshift office of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) at the Physical Education Department of the college. With the WFI barring Vinesh from competing at the tournament by serving her a show-cause notice and holding her ineligible, Vinesh presented her arguments before WFI president Sanjay Kumar Singh but all those fell on deaf ears.
Vinesh, who missed a medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics by a whisker after she failed to make the weight ahead of the 50kg final, termed it a pre-planned conspiracy hatched by the federation on behest of its former president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Incidentally, a few days ago the wrestler had expressed apprehension over her participation in the event at the venue considered to be a stronghold of Brij Bhushan against whom she along with Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, both Olympic medallists, had launched a protest accusing him of sexual harassment.
"He (WFI president Sanjay Kumar) wants me to quit wrestling, lose the battle so that they succeed in conspiracies being hatched against me," Vinesh told journalists after meeting the WFI chief.
"The show-cause notice they served me on Friday, I didn't get the time to reply as I am an athlete, I have to reduce weight as well and I am also preparing for the competition. That's why I gave a short reply. I told him that I will give my detailed reply within 14 days but how can you hold me guilty in that period and stop me from competing. If I fail to furnish the reply in 14 days, then he can take whatever action he deems fit. But he was adamant and wants a detailed reply," added the 31-year-old grappler, who has represented the country in three Olympics so far.
Accusing the federation of working on instructions from Brij Bhushan, she said it was all pre-planned to prevent her from returning to wrestling. "I also told him that I informed him on December 12 that I am returning to sport. Why did he wait for six months? Why didn't he seek all those things then? I also registered myself for the competition but they waited for 10 days after entry. It's all pre-planned. They knew courts would be closed so they served me notice on Friday. They all are working on instructions from Brij Bhushan. He would have instructed them not to allow me to compete."
Speaking on whereabouts failure notice from International Testing Agency and World Anti-Doping Agency rules citing which the WFI held her ineligible to participate in any domestic events till June 26, 2026, she affirmed she didn't flout any rules. "If I had flouted any rules then NADA or WADA would have issued me a show-cause notice or banned me. I just missed one whereabouts and that happens with athletes. I gave birth to a child then and an Assembly session was also going on. I forgot to update and even apologised to WADA. The ITA gave me clearance to participate in any international event from January 1, 2026 but here they are saying they are not satisfied. I also underwent dope tests after that. I have always competed in a fair way."
Later, she also posted a mail from ITA on her X handle, which read she is eligible to compete from January 1, 2026.
Vinesh said she was still apprehensive about her safety in Gonda. "I came here by car, anything can happen to me. I even informed the central government of my visit but they didn't provide me with any security cover," she said.
Closed academy, SAI training centre
After meeting the WFI chief and speaking to journalists, Vinesh headed straight to National Wrestling Academy located around 500 metres away from the competition venue. The wrestler said she wanted to train but the facility was locked. She even interacted with a few junior wrestlers at the facility and expressed concerns when one of them said they trained at the grass ground before their bouts. Vinesh then headed for the SAI training facility but it didn't have mats.
Reacting to Vinesh's accusations, Sanjay Singh said the wrestler has to submit a complete explanation and the same would be submitted to the WFI's disciplinary committee, which eventually will take a call. "She has to reply to our show-cause notice. She hasn't filed her complete reply yet. The same would be submitted to the disciplinary panel, which will take a call after going through her explanations," the WFI president said.
Player's welfare and security remain our highest priorities: WFI
Meanwhile, the WFI also issued a statement and highlighted the secure environment provided to Vinesh during her visit. "Vinesh Phogat was provided full security from the moment she arrived. As witnessed by everyone present, she met the officials and was informed about her ineligibility to participate, as per the rules and procedures in place. She freely interacted with the media and was not stopped or interrupted anywhere, following this, she left the venue peacefully. The WFI treats every player equally, and player welfare and security remain our highest priorities. From her arrival in Gonda to her departure from the venue, complete security and support were extended to her at every step," read the WFI's statement.