New Delhi: Taking a hard stance on courts intervening in sporting matters, the Supreme Court Friday said “institutions have to be stronger” and cautioned against arguments between sporting institutions and athletes becoming “shrill and emotional”, as it allowed wrestler Vinesh Phogat to participate in the 30-31 May selection trials for the Asian Games scheduled for September in Japan.
“The answers are not in court; institutionalisation should be stronger rather than litigating,” said Justice P.S. Narasimha, stressing that “everything is not legal” and decisions must rest “on strong foundation” rather than litigation.
The court also drew a parallel with the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) pleadings stemming from structural reforms and ongoing challenges to its governance.
During the hearing, the court repeatedly underlined that its concern was not with Phogat’s achievements or her motherhood as “she has already made the country proud”.
The top court bench, however, expressed strong reservations against the Delhi High Court division bench order of last Friday which allowed wrestler Vinesh Phogat, a two-time Olympian and Congress legislator, to participate in the Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) selection trials for 2026 Asian Games. The court had also strongly rebuked the WFI’s policy which it said effectively converted Phogat’s maternity leave into a disqualifying absence.
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WFI policy and legal challenges
The WFI’s last selection trials for the Asian Games are scheduled for the last two days of the month.
At the heart of the dispute is the WFI’s Asian Games Selection Policy, dated 25 February 2026, and a subsequent circular dated 6 May 2026. Together, they restrict trial eligibility to athletes who won medals at specific domestic championships in late 2025 and early 2026.
Phogat, who holds multiple Commonwealth Games and Asian Games gold medals, was on a duly disclosed maternity sabbatical from December 2024 to August 2025; her child was born in July 2025. In this period, she was unable to participate in competitions that eventually turned into qualifying criteria for selection to the Asian Games.
The WFI’s show-cause notice, declaring her ineligible for competing in any sanctioned domestic events until 26 June, rested on three grounds. The first alleged that Phogat’s Paris Olympics disqualification—caused by her being 100 grams over the 50-kg limit on the morning of the final—had caused “national embarrassment” and damaged the reputation of Indian wrestling.
The second accused her of failing to observe the mandatory six-month notice period that Unified World Wrestling rules require of retired athletes returning to competition. The third alleged she had competed across two weight categories (50 kg and 53 kg) at the March 2024 selection trials for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The high court division bench last Friday held this policy discriminatory and allowed her to participate. In challenge, the WFI approached the Supreme Court, arguing during Friday’s hearing that the list of 12 participants was ready, and that there are other wrestlers who are mothers too.
‘Tailormade to exclude’
In response, appearing for Phogat, senior advocate Madhavi Divan told the court that she was not requesting any favourable treatment, but just the allowance to participate in the selection trial, which she said was denied to Phogat due to the WFI circular and new policy “tailormade to exclude” her.
The bench of justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe noted two “disturbing” aspects—Phogat missing the doping test in January, and the International Testing Agency (ITA) not accepting her explanation that she had to attend Assembly as a legislator in Haryana.
Importantly, they noted that the high court order “puts things differently”, as it said that the policy is discriminatory without going into any rules. “High Court cannot handle the matter in this way, this is national and international sports,” and the country has to come first, the bench noted.
Senior advocate Divan also reiterated that, according to the rules, one becomes ineligible on missing a doping test three times in 12 months, which was not the case with Phogat who was tested in January 2026. She also reiterated that the WFI’s May circular—which Phogat has also challenged—reverses the past performance consideration rule.
Towards the end of the hearing, the court was also apprised of a plea by the other 12 women wrestlers who stand selected for the Asian Games. The court has listed all of them for hearing on 1 June, noting that “some creases have to be ironed out”.
The latest legal proceedings have unfolded against the backdrop of an ongoing criminal trial related to sexual harassment complaints by wrestlers against former WFI chairman and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. In a video posted on social media recently, Phogat identified herself as one of the six women wrestlers who had made the allegations against Singh. She also alleged in the clip that the 15-page show-cause notice and the harassment case were directly linked.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
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