The Delhi High Court has refused interim relief to wrestler Vinesh Phogat seeking to participate in the women's selection trials for the 2026 Senior World Championships.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma was not inclined to grant an interim exemption from the eligibility criteria to allow Phogat to participate in the selection trials on September 14.

“To reiterate, the criteria prescribed under the circular dated September 7, 2026 apply uniformly to all athletes. An athlete who has not participated in the prescribed competitions, for whatever reason, would not fall within the eligibility categories specified by respondent no. 1 (WFI)," the court said.

Justice Sharma was dealing with a plea filed by Phogat seeking permission to participate in the selection trials for the 2026 Senior World Wrestling Championships.

Phogat filed the fresh application in her pending plea seeking a policy for women athletes who return to sports following pregnancy and maternity leave.

The Court said that Phogat's circumstances relating to pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum recovery would require consideration while examining the validity of the policy.

However, it added that does not, at the interim stage, by itself entitle her to a direction permitting her to participate contrary to the eligibility criteria.

“Granting such interim relief to the petitioner alone, without first adjudicating upon the policy itself, may consequently result in unequal treatment of similarly situated athletes who are not before this court," it said.

Justice Sharma also observed that without expressing any final opinion on the validity of the circular or on the merits of the pending disciplinary proceedings, the Court was not inclined to grant the interim relief to Phogat.

The selection trials are being conducted for India's team for the 2026 Senior World Wrestling Championships, scheduled to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan from October 24 to November 01.

The WFI circular provides for the women's trials in six Olympic weight categories on September 14 in the national capital.

Phogat contended that the latest selection framework creates a “closed” pathway by making eligibility dependent on participation and performance in specified qualifying competitions.

The categories include medal winners of the 2025 Senior National Wrestling Championship, the 2026 Senior Open Ranking Tournament at Gonda, the 2026 U23 National Wrestling Championship, specified Federation Cup medal winners, wrestlers attending the National Coaching Camp and wrestlers selected for the 2026 U20 World Wrestling Championship.

According to Phogat, she did not fall within any of these categories because her absence from the qualifying competitions was linked to her pregnancy, childbirth, post-partum recovery and return-to-competition requirements.

She argued that the framework contains no mechanism to account for an athlete who was unable to participate in the prescribed competitions for maternity-related reasons.

Title: Vinesh Phogat v/s Wrestling Federation of India & Ors

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