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

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, she remains ineligible to compete for a six-month period until 26 June, 2026.

“I am eligible to participate in the 2026 Senior Open Ranking Tournament at Nandini Nagar, Gonda scheduled for May 10-12, 2026,” said Phogat.

“Having completed my registration for the same, I do intend to participate in the Tournament and mark my return to the mat in a competitive event,” she added.

As per multiple reports, Phogat has already checked into a hotel in Ayodhya, which is just a few kilometeres away from Gonda where the national ranking tournament is set to be held.

The verification process for women athletes for the event is slated to start at 5pm on Monday before the competition begins on Tuesday.

It now remains to be seen whether the WFI will allow Phogat to compete in the tournament at all.

WFI denies Vinesh

Later in the day, Phogat reportedly met the WFI President Sanjay Singh, requesting him to allow her to compete.

The WFI denied the request and didn’t allow her to use the training facility or complete the verification, citing that Phogat is yet to reply to the show cause noticed issued to her.

Singh also noted that Phogat didn’t furnish any document which proves the International Testing Agency (ITA) or World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) cleared her to compete.

Just over a hour after this, Phogat posted an e-mail from the ITA, which explicitly states that she is free to compete from 1 January, 2026, on social media.

“You are allowed to compete from January 1st, 2026 onwards,” the e-mail by Testing officer Estelle Daloz to Phogat read.

With the post, Phogat once again reiterated that she has been cleared to compete from the ITA.

“I have been given written permission by the ITA to compete from 1 Jan, 2026, I was allowed to register for the 2026 Senior Open Ranking Tournament at Nandini Nagar, Gonda on the 28th of April, 2026,” she wrote.

“I came to Gonda today to participate but I have neither been allowed to complete my verification, nor been allowed to use the training hall here. I don’t want any special privileges, I just want to compete on merit,” she added.