Vinesh Phogat cleared for Asian Games trials as Supreme Court upholds Delhi HC order

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, May 29, 2026: The Supreme Court has allowed wrestler Vinesh Phogat to participate in the selection trials for the Asian Games 2026.

The selection trials are scheduled for May 30 and 31 as a bench comprising Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe heard the federation’s appeal on Friday.

“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 told the counsel appearing for the WFI.

The top court posted the plea for hearing next week.

WFI vs Vinesh Phogat Controversy

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) had challenged the Delhi High Court‘s order in the Supreme Court. The High Court had permitted Vinesh Phogat to take part in the trials.

Delhi High Court had earlier decided to allow wrestler Vinesh Phogat to compete in the selection trials, intensifying the legal battle surrounding the decorated grappler’s comeback after maternity leave.

The controversy stems from a May 22 order of the Delhi High Court, in which a division bench permitted Phogat to take part in the Asian Games trials scheduled for May 30 and 31. The court observed that the WFI’s selection policy failed to account for exceptional athletes returning after a maternity break and described the criteria as exclusionary.

“The appellant (Phogat) shall be permitted to participate in the selection trials for Asian Games, 2026, which are scheduled for May 30, 2026 and May 31, 2026," the court ruled.

The High Court also directed that the trials be video-recorded and monitored by independent observers from both the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

In its observations, the court underlined that motherhood cannot be treated as a professional disadvantage for female athletes. It further noted that the WFI’s existing policy marked a sharp departure from earlier practices, where selectors retained discretion to accommodate iconic athletes.

The bench also criticised the federation for describing Phogat’s disqualification from the Paris Olympics as a “national embarrassment" in a show-cause notice issued to her earlier this month.

The court remarked that such comments were “deplorable", “ex-facie misconceived" and “ought to have been avoided".

Phogat had challenged the WFI’s eligibility norms, arguing that the qualification window unfairly overlapped with her pregnancy and post-partum recovery period, effectively shutting her out of contention.

Earlier this month, the federation declared her ineligible for domestic events until June 26, citing anti-doping regulations applicable to athletes returning from retirement. Despite that, Phogat participated in the National Open Ranking Tournament in Gonda.

The former world championship medallist was also one of the leading faces of the 2023 wrestlers’ protest against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. In August 2024, she was heartbreakingly disqualified from the Olympic final in Paris after being found 100 grams overweight during the morning weigh-in.