New Delhi, 22 May 

The Delhi High Court on Friday pulled up the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for its decision to declare celebrated grappler Vinesh Phogat "ineligible" from participation in domestic events and asked the Centre to constitute an expert panel to evaluate her.

A bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia observed that the WFI's departure from the earlier practice of permitting the participation of reputed athletes "speaks volumes," and asked the Centre to ensure that Phogat, who is seeking her return from a maternity break, is allowed to participate in the upcoming Asian Games selection trials.

The bench emphasised that motherhood is celebrated in the country, and the federation should not act with "vengeance."

It asked the Centre to constitute an expert panel to evaluate Phogat after the government counsel submitted that the framework provided by the Sports Authority of India permits relaxation of eligibility criteria in certain cases.

"Ask the experts to evaluate her chances.. Ensure that she participates," the court orally said, as it clarified it would take up the matter at 2:30pm again to enable the government counsel to come back with further details with respect to the constitution of the team of experts.

The court was hearing Phogat's appeal against a single judge's 18 May order refusing her immediate relief regarding her participation in the selection trials on 30-31 May for this year's Asian Games, despite being declared "ineligible" by the WFI.

Phogat's senior counsel urged the bench to grant her the opportunity to participate in the trials, contending that the show-cause notice issued to her on 9 May, a day before her participation in a domestic event in Gonda, showed that "somebody is clutching at straws" to oust her.

The court expressed its displeasure at the show-cause notice, claiming that Phogat's disqualification in the Paris Olympics was a "national shame" and questioned why it should not be presumed that the WFI changed the selection criteria for her.

"She became a mother in July 2025. We are in May. She is a wrestler of international repute. Why can't it be presumed that you changed it (selection criteria) for her? Whatever the feud or dispute may be, why should the cause of sports suffer? Motherhood is celebrated in the country, should it come to the detriment of a person?" the court orally remarked.

"The change in circular says all. Don't conduct yourself like this. This is not in the best interest of sports. Deviation from the earlier circular speaks volumes," it added.

The WFI had declared Phogat ineligible to participate in domestic events till 26 June 2026, citing the mandatory six-month notice period linked to athletes returning from retirement under anti-doping rules.

A defiant Vinesh, however, showed up at the National Open Ranking Tournament in Gonda.

Phogat had participated in the protest by women wrestlers in 2023 against alleged sexual harassment by WFI's then-president Brijbhushan Sharan Singh.

In August 2024, she was disqualified from the 50kg category Olympic finals for being 100 gm overweight in the morning weigh-in.