New Delhi, May 18: The Delhi High Court on Monday declined to grant immediate relief to three-time Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who had sought permission to participate in the Asian Games selection trials scheduled for May 30–31. Phogat has approached the Delhi High Court, challenging her exclusion from the trials by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and seeking directions to allow her participation in the selection trials pending adjudication of her plea against the federation’s new eligibility criteria.
Senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao, appearing for Phogat, argued before a single-judge Bench of Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav that “there was something more than meets the eye” in the matter and urged the Delhi High Court to permit the wrestler to participate in the trials subject to the outcome of the case. However, Justice Rao declined to pass any interim order without hearing the WFI’s stand, observing that no immediate relief could be granted at this stage.
“Unnecessarily, there is no point in allowing you to participate and then telling you that it was a nullity,” the judge orally remarked. The Delhi High Court said it would hear the matter after the summer vacation and listed the case for further hearing on July 6. It also permitted Phogat to file a comprehensive reply to the show-cause notice issued to her by the WFI and directed the federation to take the disciplinary proceedings to their logical conclusion by the next date of hearing.
It further said that any decision taken by the WFI should be placed on record before the Delhi High Court. The WFI declared Phogat ineligible to participate in any sanctioned competitions until June 26, citing “grave acts of indiscipline” and violations of anti-doping and international wrestling regulations. In a 15-page show-cause notice issued earlier this month, the WFI directed the three-time Olympian to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against her, highlighting incidents ranging from the Paris 2024 Games to recent anti-doping failures. Recently, the WFI had also introduced revised eligibility criteria for participation in the Asian Games selection trials, restricting entry to medal winners from specified national-level tournaments held during 2025 and 2026. The move effectively excluded Phogat, who has not competed in professional events since the Paris Olympics 2024. –IANS pds/vd
