Overview
- The Delhi High Court allowed Vinesh Phogat to compete in the Asian Games selection trials scheduled for May 30–31, directing the WFI to record the proceedings and have one observer each from the Sports Authority of India and the Indian Olympic Association present.
- The two-judge bench found the WFI’s May rule change—which limited trial eligibility to reigning national champions—was exclusionary because it left no discretion to consider athletes returning from maternity leave.
- The court sharply rebuked the WFI for what it called vindictive conduct and questioned the Centre’s and Sports Ministry’s silence over the sudden policy change that blocked Phogat’s earlier entry into trials in Gonda.
- Phogat has been training intensively at the SAI centre in Sonepat with family support while keeping a low public profile as she prepares to step onto the mat on May 30 and 31.
- The order could set a precedent on how national federations must treat athletes returning from maternity breaks and increases transparency in selection by requiring recorded trials and independent oversight.