The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court’s order permitting wrestler Vinesh Phogat to participate in the selection trials for the 2026 Asian Games.
A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe is scheduled to hear the federation’s plea on Friday.
The development comes days after the Delhi High Court allowed the celebrated wrestler to compete in the trials scheduled for May 30-31, while sharply criticising the WFI’s selection policy as exclusionary and unfair towards athletes returning from maternity break.
“The appellant shall be permitted to participate in the selection trials for the Asian Games, 2026, which are scheduled for 30.05.2026 and 31.05.2026,” the high court said in its order passed on May 22.
The division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia also directed that the trials be video-recorded by the WFI and ordered the presence of one independent observer each from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) during the process to ensure transparency.
“The policy and the circular are clearly exclusionary in nature as it does not give any discretion to Respondent No.1 (WFI) to consider iconic players like the appellant in view of the sabbatical taken on account of her maternity leave,” the court observed.
The bench also raised concerns over procedural fairness, noting that the grounds cited in the show-cause notice “appear to be pre-mediated and reopening the closed issues” and stating that “it is necessary that the appellant is permitted to participate in the selection trials in the interest of the sport and justice”.
The order came on Phogat’s appeal against a May 18 single-judge ruling that had denied her immediate relief regarding participation in the trials.
During the hearing, the court had strongly questioned the WFI’s decision declaring Phogat ineligible for domestic competition till June 26, 2026, and asked the Centre to consider setting up an expert panel to evaluate her case.
“Ask the experts to evaluate her chances.. Ensure that she participates,” the court orally remarked, adding that it would revisit the matter later in the day after receiving further details from the government counsel.
The bench stressed that motherhood should not become a disadvantage for athletes and criticised the federation’s approach.
“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 may be the feud or dispute, why should the cause of sports suffer? Motherhood is celebrated in the country, should it come to the detriment of a person?” the court said.
“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.
Phogat had challenged the WFI’s decision declaring her ineligible for domestic events till June 26, 2026, citing mandatory six-month notice requirements linked to athletes returning from retirement under anti-doping rules.
A wrestler of international repute, Phogat was disqualified from the 50-kg category final at the Paris Olympics in August 2024 after being found 100 grams overweight during the morning weigh-in. She was also among the wrestlers who led the 2023 protests alleging sexual harassment against former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.