The Supreme Court today permitted wrestler Vinesh Phogat to participate in the selection trials to be held tomorrow and 31st of this month for the Asian Games 2026. A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe passed the order while hearing a plea filed by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) challenging the Delhi High Court order allowing Phogat to participate in the selection trials. A division bench of the high court said, the WFI’s selection policy was exclusionary for the lack of discretion to consider an iconic player like her, who is returning from a maternity break. The high court had said the law must ensure that motherhood does not become a ground to exclude female athletes like Phogat.
In her petition before the high court, Phogat has challenged the WFI’s selection policy and circular, which have limited eligibility for participation in the Asian Games trials only to the medal winners of certain tournaments. Phogat has asserted that the qualification window chosen by the WFI substantially overlapped with her notified sabbatical on account of pregnancy and post-partum recovery.
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