Delhi HC allows Vinesh Phogat in 2026 Asian Games selection trials

AAir division bench of the new delhi heights margaret court on fri permitted wrestler Vinesh Phogat to participate in the selection trials for the 2026 Asian Games scheduled for May 30 and 31.A bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, in its verdict released on Saturday, observed that Wrestling Federation of India (WFI)’s selection criteria for the Asian Games-- which restricted eligibility to wrestlers who won medals in 2025 while disregarding earlier performances-- was exclusionary.It left no discretion for the federation to consider accomplished athletes like Phogat, who took a sabbatical due to maternity leave, and also marked a significant deviation from the past practice, the court said.In its 15-page order, the court observed that Phogat’s exclusion from the selection trials was directly linked to her sabbatical and the temporary eligibility requirements.It noted that her maternity period and subsequent recovery coincided with the timing of the championships necessary to satisfy the eligibility criteria, thereby affecting her ability to qualify for the trials. It said Phogat, being an internationally acclaimed athlete has brought several laurels to the country.“The standard for selection trials, as adopted in the Policy and the Circular, marks significant deviation from the past practice. The guidelines for the National Coaching Camps dated 29.04.2025 issued by Respondent No. 1 clearly provides that the Respondent has discretion to select iconic players for Asian Games without participating in the coaching to be eligible for the trials,” the court said.It added, “In view of the above, the Policy and the Circular are clearly exclusionary in nature as it does not give any discretion to Respondent No. 1 to consider iconic players like the Appellant in view of the sabbatical taken on account of her maternity leave. It is a well-recognised principle of law that due to maternity, a woman cannot be prejudiced in any manner in terms of her employment, career, ranking and promotion during the period of maternity leave.”Also Read:Delhi HC pulls up WFI over decision to declare Vinesh ‘ineligible’The bench also said that WFI’s show cause notice barring her from domestic events, appeared “pre-mediated” and sought to reopen settled issues.It also termed as deplorable the observations made by WFI in its May 9 show-cause notice, which declared Phogat ineligible to participate in domestic events over the incident at the 2024 Paris Olympics that led to her disqualification and described it as a national embarrassment.The court noted that these remarks were made despite the ruling by Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which found no wrongdoing on her part. It further observed that the comments appeared premeditated and ex facie misconceived, and should have been avoided.“Such observations are retrograde and show the mala fide intent of the Respondent 1 (WFI) by being vindictive against the appellant,” the order said.The court thus directed WFI to video record the trials and asked the Centre to appoint two independent observers from the Sports Authority of India and the Indian Olympic Association to oversee the process.The observers are also directed to submit their report before the single judge hearing Phogat’s challenge to the Asian Games selection policy.Earlier this year, the WFI framed its Asian Games selection policy and, on May 6, issued a circular restricting eligibility for the selection trials to medal winners of the 2025 Senior National Wrestling Championship, 2026 Senior Federation Cup, 2026 Under-20 National Wrestling Championship and Under-23 National Wrestling Championship, provided the events were held before the trials.The circular also clarified that past performances would not be considered, effectively rendering Phogat ineligible, as the qualification window substantially overlapped with her sabbatical, return-to-training phase, pregnancy-related break and post-partum recovery period.On May 9, the WFI further issued a notice barring Phogat from participating in domestic competitions till June 26. The WFI alleged indiscipline, violations related to anti-doping regulations, weight-related disqualification at the Paris 2024 Olympics, and failure to complete the mandatory six-month notice period required for athletes returning from retirement under United World Wrestling anti-doping rules.Phogat subsequently moved the high court through senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao, along with advocate Ritwik Prakash, challenging the selection policy and the notice, on the ground that earlier WFI regulations governing selection for major international events, including the Asian Games, expressly preserved discretionary consideration in favour of iconic wrestlers such as Olympic and world championship medalists.It added that the eligibility framework further failed to create a closed and inflexible gatekeeping mechanism without any accommodation for maternity-related absence, postpartum recovery.However, a single judge on May 18 declined to allow her to participate in the trials scheduled for May 30 and 31, prompting her to appeal before a division bench.WFI’s counsel, Hemant Phalper, argued that Phogat was ineligible to participate as she voluntarily retired from wrestling and did not compete in the required tournaments, making her ineligible under the February policy and May circular. He maintained that WFI lacked the authority to grant exemptions to these rules and stressed that the circular applied equally to all athletes without specifically targeting or discriminating against Phogat.Meanwhile, the Centre’s counsel clarified that the sports ministry did not bar Phogat from the selection trials but could not interfere in WFI’s decisions, citing possible international sporting repercussions. However, if permitted to compete, independent oversight and live airing of the trials would ensure transparency.