NEW DELHI, May 28: The WFI has moved the Supreme Court, challenging the Delhi High Court order that allowed Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat to participate in the selection trials for the 2026 Asian Games, scheduled to be held here on Saturday.
In its Special Leave Petition (SLP), the WFI termed the Delhi High Court division bench order dated May 22 as “ex facie illegal” and argued that the federation was not given adequate opportunity to file a detailed reply before directions were issued in favour of Vinesh.
The federation said the High Court had directed inclusion of Vinesh in the trials for the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya despite her allegedly being “ineligible” under the published selection criteria.The WFI further argued that selection of athletes for international multi-sport events falls exclusively within the domain of the recognised National Sports Federation and warned against “judicial overreach” into sporting selection matters.Giving background to the dispute, the federation stated that Vinesh had voluntarily retired from wrestling in December 2024 through communications sent to the International Testing Agency (ITA).
According to the plea, an athlete returning from retirement must undergo a mandatory six-month whereabouts and dope-testing period before becoming eligible to compete. (PTI)
