CHENNAI: Days after she was denied participation in the Senior Open Ranking Tournament in Nandini Nagar, Gonda (Uttar Pradesh), two-time World Championships bronze medallist wrestler Vinesh Phogat could not get relief despite filing an extraordinary writ petition before the High Court of Delhi.
The court, while hearing the petition filed on May 13, said on Monday that it will first examine the selection policy issued by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for marquee events like 2026 Asian Games before passing an order. The matter listed for July 6 which will be after the selection trials on May 30 in New Delhi, practically endING Vinesh's hopes of competing in the trials. Vinesh filed the petition seeking multiple reliefs including permission to participate in the selection trials to pick the Indian team for the Asian Games.
Meanwhile, as many as 21 wrestlers also approached the court opposing Vinesh's writ petition claiming it would directly affect them. The court directed them to file a formal application in this regard.
"The court did not permit Vinesh to participate in the selection trials of the Asian Games that are to be held on 30.5.2026. The court had further said that without examining the policy for selection no order can be passed," Hemant Phalpher, WFI's counsel, told this daily.
Vinesh prayed to the court to stay operation, implementation and effect of the show-cause notice issued to her on May 9, permit her, pending disposal of the present petition, to participate provisionally in all WFI competitions and selection processes including the Asian Games. Vinesh has been at loggerheads with the federation for more than three years now since the protest where she levelled sexual harassment charges against its president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in 2023.
She also requested the court to direct WFI, its office bearers, officials, committees, representatives, agents and all persons acting on its behalf, to refrain from taking any precipitative, coercive or adverse action against the petitioner, including but not limited to suspension, declaration of ineligibility, debarment from participation, or any consequential punitive action, during the pendency of the present proceedings.
The 31-year-old wrestler from Haryana retired from the sport following the Paris Olympics heartbreak. She returned overweight ahead of her final bout in the 50kg weight category at the 2024 Games thus losing out on an Olympic medal. She then contested Haryana Assembly election on the ticket from Indian National Congress and won the seat. The wrestler also gave birth to a baby boy. In December last year, she announced her comeback and the Gonda event was supposed to be her first competition since the 2024 Olympics.
However, the WFI served her a show-cause notice only a day before the start of the tournament rendering her ineligible for the competition. She even reached the venue for verification on Day 2 of the three-day event but the federation didn't relent. The WFI through the 15-page notice gave Vinesh a 14-day period to respond to allegations.
"By virtue of your registration as a wrestler with WFI and your participation under the Indian flag in international competitions, including the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad held at Paris in 2024, you are subject to the disciplinary jurisdiction of WFI and are bound by the rules and regulations framed by WFI and UWW from time to time," read the notice. Before that she was served a whereabouts failure notice by the International Testing Agency.
Phalpher said the court also directed his client to bring the notice served to Vinesh to its logical conclusion once she sends the reply. "If the reply (to show-cause notice) is filed then the WFI can examine the reply and give a hearing to the petitioner before taking any decision on it," added Phalpher.