Shillong: The Delhi High Court demanded answers from the Wrestling Federation of India on Wednesday regarding Vinesh Phogat. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma ordered the WFI to decide if the wrestler can compete in the 2026 Senior World Wrestling Championships trials. The court set the next hearing for Thursday. The judge also ordered the federation to address Phogat’s request to pause pending disciplinary proceedings against her.
Phogat wants a spot in the trials scheduled for September 14 at the Indira Gandhi Stadium. She filed an application challenging the WFI’s September 7 circular. This rulebook blocks her from the event. It sets narrow criteria based on past performance in specific qualifiers. These requirements ignore athletes sidelined by pregnancy and childbirth. Senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao argued for the wrestler. "My maternity cannot come in the way of my eligibility to participate. I’m not asking for a free pass," Rao said.
The current fight stems from the WFI’s rigid selection framework. Phogat claims it lacks an alternative path for returning mothers. She previously battled the WFI over Asian Games selection trials. A division bench eventually allowed her to compete after she challenged her exclusion from the May 30-31 event. She later lost her semifinal match against Meenakshi Goyat. She missed out on the Aichi-Nagoya games.
The WFI continues to pursue separate disciplinary action. They issued show-cause notices on May 9 and June 17, citing alleged anti-doping violations and general indiscipline. The federation previously banned her from all sanctioned events until June 26. Phogat remains defiant. She claims the International Testing Agency already cleared her to return by January 1, 2026. She views the federation’s actions as an arbitrary attempt to block her comeback.
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