Delhi HC Seeks WFI Response On Vinesh Phogat’s World Championship Trials Participation

On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court asked the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) whether it was willing to let Vinesh Phogat take part in the selection trials for the 2026 Senior World Wrestling Championship and defer any final order in the disciplinary case against her. The trials are scheduled for Monday, September 14, at the Indira Gandhi Stadium.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma told WFI’s counsel to seek instructions on both issues and listed the matter for Thursday. “Take instructions on both the matters. I will hear them tomorrow,” the judge said to WFI’s lawyer, as Hindustan Times reported.

The court heard two applications filed by Phogat through advocates Ashita Khanna and Ritwik Prakash. One sought an early hearing of her petition challenging the disciplinary proceedings. The other challenged WFI’s Sept. 7 circular that set the eligibility rules for the championship selection trials.

Disciplinary Proceedings

Phogat sought an early hearing of her challenge to the disciplinary action. The proceedings stem from show-cause notices that accused her of indiscipline, anti-doping rule breaches and misconduct during the 2026 Asian Games selection trials. The court had already fixed September 29 as the next hearing date in that matter.

Rao told the court that WFI later issued a notice fixing the disciplinary hearing for September 9 and calling it the last and final opportunity. He said Phogat was willing to appear, but asked the court to stop the committee from passing any final order meanwhile.

WFI disputed that account. Its counsel said Phogat had been given five chances to appear before the disciplinary committee and had refused to attend the Sept. 2 hearing because her writ petition was pending. WFI said she was avoiding the process and could not now seek relief from the court.

Trial Eligibility Circular

The second dispute stems from WFI’s Sept. 7 circular. In that circular, WFI set the eligibility rules for the trials for the 2026 Senior World Wrestling Championship, due to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, from October 24 to October 1. The selection trials are set for September14 at the Indira Gandhi Stadium.

Eligibility is limited to medal winners from the 2025 Senior National Wrestling Championship, the 2026 Senior Open Ranking Tournament at Gonda, the 2026 U23 National Wrestling Championship and the 2026 Federation Cup. Wrestlers currently at the National Coaching Camp and those chosen for the 2026 U20 World Wrestling Championship are also covered.

Phogat said she does not fit any of those groups and has therefore been kept out of the trials. Rao told the court that the circular effectively shut her out of Monday’s trials. “My maternity cannot come in the way of my eligibility to participate. I’m not asking for a free pass,” Rao submitted.

Earlier Court Ruling

The court has addressed the issue before. On May 22, the Delhi High Court allowed Phogat to take part in the selection trials and said WFI’s Asian Games selection criteria were exclusionary. The court noted that the rules limited eligibility to wrestlers who had won medals in 2025 while overlooking earlier results.

The court also said the federation had no room to consider accomplished athletes such as Phogat, who had taken a break because of maternity leave. It said the policy marked a sharp break from earlier practice.

In that order, the court tied her exclusion directly to her sabbatical and the temporary eligibility rules. It said her maternity period and recovery overlapped with the championships needed to meet the criteria, affecting her chance to qualify for the trials.

Protest And Acquittal

The case also has a broader backdrop. Phogat had earlier said she was one of the six women wrestlers who filed sexual harassment complaints against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Along with Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, she was among the most visible faces of the 36-day protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in April and May 2023 against Singh.

A Delhi trial court on August 3, 2026, acquitted former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of all sexual harassment and criminal intimidation charges.