The Supreme Court on Friday (May 29) allowed wrestler Vinesh Phogat to participate in the selection trials for the Asian Games to be held on May 30 and 31. The bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Radhe gave this order while hearing the petition of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). In this petition, WFI had challenged the order of Delhi High Court, in which Vinesh was allowed to participate in the selection trials.
The bench told the lawyer appearing for WFI, ‘Today at this juncture, when the High Court has given the order, hopes and expectations have increased. Now telling them that they should return home and we cannot do anything would not be right. We are telling you this very clearly.
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Next hearing after selection trials
The Supreme Court said, ‘The respondent (Vinesh Phogat) will be allowed to participate in the selection trials for the 2026 Asian Games, which are to be held on 30 and 31 May 2026.’ However, the bench said it expressed concern over the manner in which the High Court handled the case. “We are not stopping you,” Bech said. You (Vinesh Phogat) go ahead and participate.
The Supreme Court has fixed the next hearing on this petition for next week. On May 22, a bench of the High Court had approved Vinesh’s participation in the upcoming trials for the Asian Games. She had said that the WFI’s selection policy was discriminatory as the name of a veteran player like her, who had returned after maternity leave, was not considered. The High Court had ordered that the selection trials would be videographed by the WFI and one independent observer each from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) would be present there.
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The High Court had said that the standards set for selection trials are quite different from the practice till now. The bench also said that the law should ensure that motherhood does not become a ground for excluding female players like Vinesh. The High Court had given its verdict on Vinesh’s petition filed on May 18 after the Single Justice Bench did not give her final relief on the issue of participation in the selection trials.
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