Vinesh Phogat insists she is eligible to compete
Vinesh Phogat arrived here on Monday and replied to the Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) show-cause notice, claiming that she was eligible to return from retirement even though the national federation maintained that she cannot be allowed to compete in the ongoing National Open Ranking tournament.
The WFI said she cannot compete until disciplinary proceedings against her are complete.
The national federation had earlier declared Vinesh ineligible to participate in domestic events till June 26, 2026, citing the mandatory six-month notice period linked to athletes returning from retirement under anti-doping rules.
Immediately after landing in Ayodhya, Vinesh replied to the WFI’s show-cause notice, claiming that Rule 5.6.1 of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code concerning retired athletes does not apply to her as she had already informed United World Wrestling (UWW) in June about her decision to resume competition after retirement.
In her response, Vinesh argued that she had formally intimated UWW about her comeback well in advance and, therefore, fulfilled the procedural requirements needed to return to competition.
However, WFI sources said the federation was not satisfied with her reply and felt that the wrestler had addressed only the eligibility aspect while failing to respond comprehensively to the broader disciplinary charges levelled against her in the detailed notice issued earlier.
“The reply is not enough. She has not answered the full show-cause notice. Until a disciplinary hearing is conducted and the matter is decided, she cannot be permitted to compete,” a WFI source said.
The controversy erupted after WFI issued a strongly worded show-cause notice to the celebrated wrestler, accusing her of indiscipline, breach of federation rules and anti-doping related procedural violations.
