Delhi HC Declines Interim Relief to Vinesh Phogat for 2026 World Championships Selection Trials

On September 11, 2026, a Single Judge of the Delhi High Court declined to grant wrestler Vinesh Phogat interim permission to participate in the Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) selection trials for the 2026 Senior World Wrestling Championships. The Court held that the WFI’s eligibility criteria applied uniformly to all athletes and could not be relaxed in favour of one athlete at the interim stage.

On May 22, 2026, a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court permitted Phogat to participate in the Asian Games 2026 selection trials, holding that motherhood cannot be a ground for excluding women athletes. Following that order, the WFI challenged it before the Supreme Court and issued a second show-cause notice dated June 17, 2026 concerning her conduct during the Asian Games selection trials. Phogat subsequently filed a fresh plea challenging both show-cause notices, the resulting disciplinary proceedings and the validity of the Disciplinary Committee, and seeking a fair and structured WFI framework for women athletes returning to competitive sport after pregnancy, childbirth and post-partum recovery.

Before the Single Judge, Phogat had sought provisional inclusion in the eligibility pool and a stay on the WFI’s circular dated September 7, 2026, which prescribed the eligibility criteria for the selection trials. The women’s trials were scheduled for September 14, 2026, at the Indira Gandhi Stadium, New Delhi, and the 2026 Senior World Wrestling Championships are to be held at Astana, Kazakhstan, from October 24 to November 1, 2026.

Declining interim relief, the Court observed that selection to represent the country at an international championship carries the larger national interest and must follow a fair, uniform and performance-based process. It added that relaxing the eligibility criteria in favour of Phogat alone could affect other similarly situated athletes not before it.

The Court clarified that it was expressing no final opinion on the validity of the September 7 circular or on the pending disciplinary proceedings. It added that the Court would consider Phogat’s circumstances relating to pregnancy, childbirth, and post-partum recovery while deciding the validity and application of the WFI’s selection framework. The main writ petition remains pending, with arguments partly heard, and is listed for September 29, 2026.