Vinesh Phogat (File photo)
NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court has allowed celebrated wrestler Vinesh Phogat to participate in the upcoming Asian Games selection trials, observing that allowing her participate in the trials was necessary “in the interest of sports and justice.” A bench comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia also directed the WFI to video-record the trials scheduled for May 30 and 31. The court further ordered that independent observers from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) remain present during the process. “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 court said in its order uploaded on Saturday, a day after it was passed. “The policy and the circular are clearly exclusionary in nature as they do 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 bench added. The court also observed that the grounds cited in WFI’s show-cause notice to Phogat appeared to be “premeditated” and amounted to reopening settled issues. The order came on Phogat’s appeal against a May 18 ruling by a single-judge bench that had denied her interim relief regarding participation in the trials. Phogat, an internationally acclaimed wrestler, was disqualified from the women’s 50kg final at the 2024 Summer Olympics in August 2024 after being found 100 grams overweight during the morning weigh-in.(With PTI inputs)
