New Delhi, September 11, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Delhi High Court has declined to grant immediate relief to three-time Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who had sought permission to participate in the selection trials for the 2026 Senior World Wrestling Championships in Kazakhstan.
A single-judge Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma on Thursday refused to exempt Phogat from the eligibility criteria prescribed by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), observing that the rules applied uniformly to all athletes and could not be relaxed exclusively for the petitioner at the interim stage.
Phogat had sought a direction to the WFI to provisionally include her in the eligibility pool and allow her to participate in the women’s selection trials scheduled for September 14 at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Stadium.
The court said her maternity-related absence would be considered while examining the validity and application of the WFI’s selection framework. However, it held that the circumstances did not presently justify allowing her to participate in violation of the prescribed eligibility criteria.
Justice Sharma observed that granting Phogat a special exemption could be unfair to other athletes with similar grievances who were not before the court and could lead to several other requests for exceptions.
Phogat’s counsel, senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao, had argued that the eligibility framework was exclusionary because it linked participation to specified qualifying competitions without providing a mechanism for athletes returning to competition after pregnancy, childbirth and post-partum recovery.
The court said the broader question of whether selection policies must provide such a mechanism, and whether its absence could make a policy arbitrary or discriminatory, would require detailed examination when the main writ petition is finally heard.
Phogat had stayed away from active competition during 2024-25 due to pregnancy, childbirth and post-partum recovery. The court noted that the International Testing Agency, acting on behalf of United World Wrestling, had confirmed in July 2025 that she would be eligible to compete from January 1, 2026.
She had earlier challenged her exclusion from the Asian Games selection process. The Delhi High Court’s Division Bench subsequently allowed her to participate in the Asian Games Selection Trials on May 30, observing prima facie that motherhood could not prejudice a woman’s career.
Phogat competed in the 53 kg category, reached the semi-final but was ultimately not selected for the Asian Games.
The single-judge Bench noted that the earlier interim relief was linked to the then-prevailing Asian Games Selection Policy and could not be treated as a continuing exemption from eligibility requirements for future competitions. The court also took note of a second show-cause notice issued by the WFI on June 17 over alleged misconduct during those trials.
The main writ petition challenging the WFI’s selection and disciplinary framework, and seeking a fair and structured mechanism for women athletes returning after pregnancy and childbirth, will next be heard on September 29.
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