New Delhi, April 28: India’s star wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Tuesday confirmed that she has successfully registered for the upcoming ranking tournament in Gonda after claiming that she was being blocked from competing by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
The clarification comes after confusion over her delayed entry. The WFI maintained that technical issues with the registration portal had initially prevented many wrestlers, not just Vinesh, from completing the process.
She was eventually able to submit her entry after the link became accessible.
While Vinesh said the registration could be completed only this morning, information from the WFI revealed that her registration was processed and completed at 10:29 pm on Monday night.
Vinesh is set to compete in 57kg category at the National Open Ranking event in Gonda from May 10-12. It will be her first event after getting disqualified from the 2024 Paris Games for being overweight. She had announced retirement but turned the decision, keeping an eye on this year’s Asian Games and the 2028 Olympics.
Vinesh didn’t need to make noise: WFI
The WFI on Tuesday said Vinesh “didn’t need to make any noise” over her delayed entry into the upcoming ranking tournament, asserting that her registration had already been processed and there was no attempt to block her participation, even as the star wrestler claimed otherwise.
“WFI had given ample time to the wrestlers to register themselves and in fact as we speak two days are still remaining. There was no need to make so much noise about it. If the website was not working, the WFI office is always accessible. She could have come and submitted her form in person too, a lot of wrestlers have done that,” said a WFI official. (PTI)
