The Delhi High Court has permitted wrestler Vinesh Phogat to participate in the selection trials for the 2026 Asian Games, observing that motherhood could not be treated as a professional impediment warranting adverse treatment against a woman athlete.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia passed the interim order on a Letters Patent Appeal filed against the order of a single-judge Bench in pending writ proceedings challenging the Asian Games Selection Policy and Selection Criteria Circular issued by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
The dispute arose after the WFI restricted eligibility for participation in the Asian Games selection trials only to medal winners from specified domestic championships conducted during 2025 and 2026. Phogat challenged the policy framework on the grounds that she was unable to participate in the qualifying tournaments due to a maternity-related sabbatical, childbirth and post-partum recovery.
The Court observed that a legal or regulatory framework which expressly or impliedly disadvantaged a woman athlete on account of pregnancy or post-partum recovery would violate the constitutional guarantees of equality and dignity under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
The Bench held that motherhood could not be treated as a professional disqualification or a ground for exclusion from sporting opportunities. It further observed that sporting bodies could not ignore the physiological realities associated with pregnancy and childbirth while framing eligibility conditions for women athletes.
The Court noted that Phogat had informed the International Testing Agency (ITA) and the United World Wrestling (UWW) in December 2024 that she would remain on sabbatical till August 2025 due to pregnancy. The records further showed that she resumed training after childbirth and informed the authorities in June 2025 that she intended to return to competitive wrestling. The ITA subsequently acknowledged her eligibility to compete from January 1, 2026.
Phogat also challenged a show-cause notice issued by the WFI on May 9, 2026, concerning the Paris Olympics weigh-in controversy adjudicated earlier by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The notice rendered her ineligible to participate in WFI competitions till June 26, 2026, including the Senior Open Ranking Tournament at Gonda.
The Division Bench found the observations made in the show-cause notice describing the Paris Olympics incident as a “national embarrassment” to be unwarranted and inconsistent with the findings recorded by the CAS, which had not attributed any wrongdoing to the athlete. It observed that such remarks appeared vindictive and reflected mala fide intent on the part of the Federation.
The Court further noted that earlier WFI policies and guidelines had granted discretionary relaxation in favour of iconic athletes, including Olympic and World Championship medallists. However, the present selection framework did not contain any enabling provision permitting consideration of athletes who had taken maternity-related breaks.
Holding that the impugned policy and circular appeared prima facie arbitrary and exclusionary, the Bench observed that denial of interim relief would render the pending writ petition infructuous since the selection trials were scheduled for May 30 and 31, 2026.
Accordingly, the Court directed that Phogat be permitted to participate in the Asian Games selection trials pending adjudication of the writ petition before the Single Judge. It further directed that the selection process be video-recorded and monitored by two independent observers nominated by the Sports Authority of India and the Indian Olympic Association, who would submit reports before the Single Judge.
The Bench clarified that all observations made in the appellate order were prima facie in nature and confined to the question of interim participation, and would not affect the final adjudication of the writ petition on merits.
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