No immediate Delhi HC relief for Vinesh Phogat after WFI excluded her from Asian Games trials

The Delhi High Court on Monday denied any immediate relief to wrestler Vinesh Phogat against her exclusion by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) from the Asian Games selection trials.

Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao appeared for Phogat and told the Court that "there was something more than meets the eye" in this case and that the Court may allow her to participate in the trials, subject to the outcome of her challenge to the new selection policy and circular issued by the WFI.

The trials are scheduled to be held on May 30.

However, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav said that he will hear the matter in July.

"Unnecessarily, there is no point in allowing you to participate and then tell you that it was a nullity," the Court remarked.

The Bench allowed Phogat to file a comprehensive reply to the show cause notice issued to her by the WFI and directed the Federation to take the notice to its logical conclusion by the next date of hearing on July 6.

The Court also said that if a decision is taken by the WFI, it must be brought on record.

According to reports, Phogat has been barred from the trials as the eligibility for the wrestling trials was limited to medal winners from the 2025 Senior National Championships, the 2026 Federation Cup and the Under-20 National Championships. 

Phogat did not compete in any of these events. She had announced her retirement following the 2024 Olympics, but returned to wrestling in December 2025.

The Federation also issued a show-cause notice accusing Phogat of indiscipline, anti-doping rule violations and failure to comply with mandatory return-to-competition procedures after retirement.

According to WFI, Phogat did not complete the required six-month notice period under United World Wrestling regulations before attempting a comeback. The notice also referred to her 2024 Paris Olympics disqualification for being overweight, calling it a "national embarrassment", and alleged “whereabouts failures” linked to anti-doping protocols. 

Phogat rejected the allegations, stating that both the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Testing Agency had cleared her to compete from January 2026 onward. She claimed that the Federation was attempting to force her into retirement and described the action as unfair and politically motivated.

Today, Senior Advocate Rao said that Phogat was on maternity leave. He said that the new policy was contrary to the international criteria which carve out exceptions for maternity leave.

Rao added that the show-cause notice was issued to Phogat 12 hours before an event and that issues of the 2024 Paris Olympics were also raised.

Justice Kaurav said that while the Court appreciates that Phogat was on maternity leave, on the other hand, the national interest needs to be looked at as well.

"We will not be able to decide the matter before vacation [starting next month]," the Court said.

The Court then issued notices on Phogat's plea against the new selection policy and listed the case for hearing on July 6.