Vinesh Phogat’s Asian Games 2026 Hopes End After WFI Selection Criteria Shuts Door On Comeback – See Details

Vinesh Phogat’s hopes of competing at the Asian Games 2026 have been dashed after the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) ruled that the upcoming National Open Ranking tournament in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, will not count towards eligibility for the selection trials.

The tournament, scheduled for next week, is set to mark Vinesh’s return to competitive wrestling. She had announced her retirement following her disqualification from the women’s 50kg final at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Despite retiring after the incident, she announced her comeback in December last year with an eye on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

Why is Vinesh Phogat Ineligible?

According to the WFI’s eligibility rules, only medal winners from the three previous tournaments can participate in the Asian Games selection trials.

Those eligible are medal winners from:

• The 2025 Senior National Wrestling Championship, held in Ahmedabad from December 12-14, 2025

• The 2026 Senior Federation Cup, held in Ghaziabad from February 12-14, 2026

• The Under-20 National Wrestling Championship, held in Bhilai from April 10-12, 2026

The WFI circular also explicitly stated that “past performance will not be considered.” Vinesh did not compete in either the National Championships or the Federation Cup, leaving her ineligible for the Asian Games.

The women’s Asian Games trials will be held on May 30 at Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi. The freestyle and Greco-Roman trials are scheduled for May 31 at the SAI Regional Centre in Lucknow.

Vinesh-WFI Standoff Continues

Vinesh has been embroiled in a prolonged dispute with the WFI. The grappler led the protests against former federation president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over sexual harassment allegations.

The International Testing Agency (ITA) sent a notice to Vinesh on May 4 about missing an out-of-competition doping test from December 18, which had officially been recorded as a whereabouts failure.

The ITA noted that Vinesh travelled from Bengaluru to Chandigarh to attend the first winter session of the Haryana Assembly, and also acknowledged that she had recently become a mother.

The wrestler has been given seven days to request an administrative review if she believes the missed test did not result from negligence. If she does not appeal, the decision will become final.