All posts tagged: vinesh phogat

Vinesh Phogat’s Asian Games hopes dashed as Delhi High Court denies interim relief

Vinesh Phogat’s Asian Games hopes dashed as Delhi High Court denies interim relief

Published by Webster

4 min readUpdated: May 18, 2026 08:56 PM IST With no immediate relief from the Delhi High Court on Monday, two-time World Championships bronze medallist and Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s chances to appear at the Asian Games this year stands dashed. The selection trials for the 2026 Asian Games are scheduled to be held on May 30 and 31, with the tournament scheduled for September-October this year. Phogat, in a fresh petition before the Delhi HC, has primarily challenged an Asian Games Selection Policy issued by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on February 25, as well as a circular of May 6, which essentially excludes her from participating in the Asian Games’ selection trials. Additionally, she has also challenged the 15-page showcause notice issued by the WFI on May 9, accusing Phogat of indiscipline, violations of anti-doping regulations, and breaches of United World Wrestling (UWW) rules. WFI, in the showcause notice, also accused her of failing to make weight at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, “resulting in disqualification and national embarrassment.” However, a day …

Vinesh Phogat vs wrestling system, and sadly the champion is on the mat

Vinesh Phogat vs wrestling system, and sadly the champion is on the mat

Published by Webster

On that traumatic night before her gold-medal bout at the 2024 Olympics, a desperate Vinesh Phogat pleaded with the doctor to draw some blood out of her body. She had spent half an hour inside a 98 degree Celsius sauna, but sweat beads hadn’t surfaced on her severely dehydrated body. The coaches had cut her hair, even shortened her singlet, but still she weighed 57.1 kg — the stubborn extra 100 grams that eventually led to her disqualification weren’t being shed. Blood, sweat, a potential medical complication and even the possibility of permanent internal organ damage — Vinesh had risked everything to have a shot at a gold medal and history. She wasn’t going to let her country down. She would get sympathy and praise. The all-time great American wrestler Jordan Burroughs said Vinesh deserved a silver medal and that the weight rule needed to change. India’s top table tennis star Manika Batra would get emotional. “You’ve shown us what it means to chase dreams with passion and grace. India is proud to call you …

‘Our federation implements rules two days before’

‘Our federation implements rules two days before’

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: May 12, 2026 05:30 PM IST Urging the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to allow Vinesh Phogat to give trials for this year’s Asian Games, Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik has come out in support of her fellow wrestler. Looking to make her comeback after two years following the Paris Olympics heartbreak, Vinesh was issued a detailed show-cause notice by WFI, accusing her of indiscipline and anti-doping rule violations, while also declaring her ineligible to compete in domestic events till June 26. Vinesh had travelled to Gonda to verify for the women’s freestyle event, but the WFI had asked her to first file a detailed reply to the show-cause notice issued on Saturday. The WFI said the 31-year-old failed to complete the mandatory six-month notice period required for athletes returning from retirement under UWW Anti-Doping Rules. “I can give many such examples, where the sports federations of other countries make the rules easier for their players,” Sakshi said in a video posted on social media. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYOmfpZxMkT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== “So that even after becoming a mother, …

EXCLUSIVE: WFI chief on Vinesh Phogat missing Asian Games trials: ‘No special favour’

EXCLUSIVE: WFI chief on Vinesh Phogat missing Asian Games trials: ‘No special favour’

Published by Parlour News

The doors have closed on wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s chances of making it to the Asian Games trials on May 30 because of the paucity of time between her giving a detailed reply to a show cause notice and the Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) disciplinary committee taking a call on her participation eligibility. This, according to WFI president Sanjay Singh, who is at the Open National Ranking Tournament in Gonda. Speaking to The Indian Express on Tuesday, a day after the WFI dug in its heels and reiterated its stance to disallow Vinesh from competing in the ranking tournament, Singh said rules could not be bent, no matter a wrestler’s stature. Despite missing the Asian Games trials window, there is still hope for her to compete in the trials for the World Championships to be held in Manama, Bahrain, in October-November. MUST READ | ‘Energy to fight the system after Olympics heartbreak is coming from my son’: Vinesh Phogat “There was no reason for Vinesh to come here, as she was barred. But when Vinesh …

WFI a dictatorship… they are afraid I will win medals again: Vinesh in Gonda | Sports News

WFI a dictatorship… they are afraid I will win medals again: Vinesh in Gonda | Sports News

Published by Parlour News

4 min readGonda (up)May 12, 2026 08:06 AM IST Vinesh Phogat credits her 10-month-old son Kridhav for bringing joy to her life after the 2024 Paris heartbreak, fuelling her with the energy to fight the system and giving her the courage to dream of watching him cheer her at the next Olympics. She said this hours after a meeting with Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Sanjay Singh, who blocked her attempt to return to the mat at the Open National Ranking tournament in Gonda — the home turf of former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, whom she had accused of sexually harassing her. “My son has fixed my heart. After being ineligible to compete in the final at the Paris Olympics, I had run out of emotions. But my son has brought back joy into my life. The energy I have discovered to fight against the system is coming from my son. They say a child is God’s gift,” Vinesh told The Indian Express. “I am feeling good about my comeback because I …

“I am deemed eligible to compete by ITA,” says Vinesh Phogat after WFI bars her from competing until June

“I am deemed eligible to compete by ITA,” says Vinesh Phogat after WFI bars her from competing until June

Published by Webster

Two days after the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) issued a show-cause notice and barred her from competing until June 2026, Vinesh Phogat asserted that the national federation has got the timeline of her “sabbatical” from the sport wrong. “I acknowledge receipt of the show cause notice dated 09.05.2026 issued by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to me,” Phogat said in a statement. “The WFI has misinterpreted the timelines of my sabbatical from sport and subsequent return to training and competitions. As opposed to the date stated by the WFI in their notice, i.e., June 26, 2026, I have been deemed eligible to return to official training and competition on January 1, 2026. “I have official confirmation from the International Testing Agency (ITA) the agency hired by the international federation UWW, the relevant international federation governing doping control for wrestling, pertaining to the same,” she added. The WFI, in its show cause notice, had contended that Vinesh hadn’t informed her return to the sport to the ITA and as per the rules of UWW, …

Wrestling: WFI shuts door on Vinesh Phogat’s Asian Games hopes | Sports News

Wrestling: WFI shuts door on Vinesh Phogat’s Asian Games hopes | Sports News

Published by Webster

3 min readMay 6, 2026 10:42 PM IST The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) effectively ended Vinesh Phogat’s bid to compete at the Asian Games, stating that the eligible events for selection didn’t include next week’s National Open Ranking tournament. The governing body announced that it will conduct the Asian Games trials for women on May 30 in New Delhi and a day later in Lucknow for men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman. It was earlier expected that the ranking tournament in Gonda from May 10-12 would open the door for Vinesh, who is set to return to the mat after 20 months, to be in contention for the Asian Games trials. However, in a circular issued on Wednesday, the WFI laid down the eligibility criteria. It said that only the medallists at the 2025 National Championships, held in December, and last February’s Federation Cup would be allowed to compete in the selection trials. Vinesh, who gave birth to a baby boy in July last year, did not compete in either tournament. The WFI’s decision will come …

What does Vinesh Phogat’s first whereabouts failure mean?

What does Vinesh Phogat’s first whereabouts failure mean?

Published by Webster

The International Testing Agency (ITA) issued a warning to wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Monday for her first whereabouts failure related to out-of-competition dope testing. Under the World Anti-Doping Code, any athlete who accumulates three whereabouts failures within 12 months will receive a minimum two-year suspension from professional sport. Vinesh, who has announced her comeback to wrestling recently, has just received her first warning and hence will not be banned or provisionally suspended at the moment. She can compete at the Senior Open Ranking Tournament in Gonda from 10-12 May, which is the final chance for the athletes to get an entry in the national camp for Asian Games trials. It will mark her return to the competitive fold, having reversed her retirement in December last year. Although there is speculation that this news has been timed to divert attention from Vinesh’s recent social media statement, it must be noted that the ITA warning has no relation to it. In her post, Vinesh had identified herself as a victim of sexual harassment by former Wrestling Federation …

Vinesh Phogat says she’s among Brij Bhushan Singh victims who filed sexual harassment complaint

Vinesh Phogat says she’s among Brij Bhushan Singh victims who filed sexual harassment complaint

Published by Parlour News

Wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and its former president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh ahead of her much-anticipated return to the mat after 18 months. Vinesh Phogat, along with wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, was the face of the 36-day sit-in protest in April-May 2023 against Singh at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. (PTI/HT) The 31-year-old, in a video posted on social media, revealed she is one of the six women wrestlers who had filed sexual harassment complaints against Singh while highlighting her discomfort in competing at the upcoming National Open Ranking Tournament. The event will be held from May 10-12 in Nandini Nagar Mahavidhyalaya in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda, Singh’s home turf. Phogat, along with wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, was the face of the 36-day sit-in protest in April-May 2023 against Singh at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. The protest resulted in a major shake-up in WFI with its administration being handed over to an ad hoc committee before fresh elections were held to keep Singh out. …

Vinesh flags fear of bias, says government to be responsible for any incident in Gonda

Vinesh flags fear of bias, says government to be responsible for any incident in Gonda

Published by Parlour News

India’s Vinesh Phogat. File | Photo Credit: AP Decorated wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Sunday (May 3, 2026) warned that the Indian government would be responsible if anything untoward happens to her or her team members during the upcoming National Open Ranking Tournament in Gonda, while also raising apprehensions about “biased officiating” in her comeback event. In a video message ahead of her comeback after nearly 18 months, Ms. Phogat alleged that the competition, slated to be held at a venue linked to Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, could see results influenced by individuals close to the former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief. Published – May 03, 2026 04:15 pm IST Disclaimer: We do not own any of the content, ideas, images, or text presented here. All rights belong to their respective owners. For more information and to view the original source, please visit the following link: Source link