Vinesh Phogat to compete in Asian Games 2026 trials after SC gives nod

The Supreme Court on Friday allowed wrestler Vinesh Phogat to participate in the selection trials for the Asian Games 2026, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. 

A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe passed the order while hearing a plea filed by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) against the Delhi High Court’s decision permitting Phogat to take part in the trials.

The apex court said, “The respondent (Phogat) shall be permitted to participate in the selection trials for the Asian Games 2026, which are scheduled on May 30, 2026 and May 31, 2026.”

The bench told the WFI counsel that since the high court had already passed an order in her favour, it would not be proper to stop her now.

“Today, at this stage, the high court having passed the order, the hope and expectations have risen. To tell her to go back home and we can’t do anything, will not be proper. We are very bold in telling you this,” the bench observed.

The court, however, expressed concern over the manner in which the Delhi High Court handled the case.

“We are not stopping. You go ahead and participate,” the bench said while posting the matter for further hearing next week.

On May 22, a division bench of the Delhi High Court had allowed Phogat to participate in the upcoming trials.

The court said the WFI’s selection policy was exclusionary because it lacked discretion to consider an iconic athlete returning after a maternity break.

The high court directed the WFI to video-record the selection trials. It also ordered that one independent observer each from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) be present during the trials.

The court said the new selection standards marked a major departure from past practices, where iconic athletes were given discretionary consideration for events like the Asian Games.

The high court also said motherhood should not become a reason to exclude female athletes like Phogat.

“Motherhood cannot be treated as a professional impediment or a circumstance warranting adverse treatment,” the court observed.

The court further noted that the grounds mentioned in the WFI’s May 9 show-cause notice to Phogat appeared “pre-mediated” and involved reopening already closed issues.

It said allowing her to participate was necessary “in the interest of the sport and justice.”

The high court also criticised the WFI for calling Phogat’s disqualification from the 2024 Paris Olympics a “national embarrassment” in its show-cause notice.

The court termed the remark “deplorable”, “ex facie misconceived” and said such language “ought to have been avoided”.

The court observed that Phogat’s exclusion from the selection trials was directly linked to her “sabbatical and temporary retirement”.

The order came on Phogat’s appeal against a May 18 decision by a single-judge bench of the high court, which had denied her immediate relief regarding participation in the trials.

The division bench had also directed the Centre to nominate two independent observers from the SAI and the IOA to submit a report before the single-judge bench.

In her petition, Phogat challenged the WFI’s selection policy and circular, which restricted eligibility for the Asian Games trials to medal winners from certain tournaments.

She argued that the “qualification window” fixed by the WFI overlapped with her pregnancy and post-partum recovery period, creating what she called a “closed and inflexible gate-keeping mechanism” that was arbitrary and discriminatory.

Earlier this month, the WFI had declared Phogat ineligible to participate in domestic events until June 26, citing a mandatory six-month notice period linked to athletes returning from retirement under anti-doping rules.

Despite this, Phogat participated in the National Open Ranking Tournament in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh.

Phogat was also among the women wrestlers who staged protests in 2023 against former WFI president and BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over allegations of sexual harassment.

In August 2024, Phogat was disqualified from the women’s 50-kg wrestling final at the Paris Olympics after she was found to be 100 grams overweight during the morning weigh-in.