WFI moves SC over Vinesh Row, cites judicial overreach

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has moved the Supreme Court, challenging the Delhi High Court order that allowed Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat to participate in the selection trials for the 2026 Asian Games, scheduled to be held on Saturday.

In its Special Leave Petition (SLP), the WFI termed the Delhi High Court division bench order dated May 22 as “ex facie illegal” and argued that the federation was not given adequate opportunity to file a detailed reply before directions were issued in favour of Vinesh.

The federation said the High Court had directed inclusion of Vinesh in the trials for the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya despite her allegedly being “ineligible” under the published selection criteria.

The WFI further argued that selection of athletes for international multi-sport events falls exclusively within the domain of the recognised National Sports Federation and warned against “judicial overreach” into sporting selection matters. Giving background to the dispute, the federation stated that Vinesh had voluntarily retired from wrestling in December 2024 through communications sent to the International Testing Agency (ITA). According to the plea, under United World Wrestling (UWW) anti-doping rules read with the WADA Code, an athlete returning from retirement must undergo a mandatory six-month whereabouts and dope-testing period before becoming eligible to compete. The WFI also referred to a “recorded missed test” allegedly registered against Vinesh on May 4 in connection with an unsuccessful testing attempt on December 18, 2025, following which a show-cause notice was issued to her on May 9. The federation contended that the disciplinary process against the wrestler was still pending and should be allowed to reach its “logical conclusion”.

The plea also said the selection policy, published in February 2026, had no provision for an “iconic player” or maternity-based exemption and maintained that selections had always been merit-and-performance based.

The WFI further submitted that 12 wrestlers in each category had already qualified for the trials on the basis of medals won at the Senior National Championships, Senior Federation Cup and Under-20 National Championships, and claimed those wrestlers were not heard before the High Court passed its order.

The federation additionally argued that the deadline for accreditation for the Asian Games had expired on May 14, prior to the High Court order, making implementation of the directions difficult. Vinesh had approached the Delhi High Court seeking permission to compete in the trials after she was denied an opportunity to compete in the National Open Ranking event, which was supposed to be her first even on her comeback. WFI had issued a show-cause notice for violation of rules.

Vinesh moved court but did not get relief and only after she appealed that verdict, the Delhi High Court asked WFI to allow the celebrated wrestler to compete in trials in Delhi on May 30.