HC pulls up WFI over Vinesh Phogat notice

The Delhi High Court on Friday strongly criticised the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for issuing a show-cause notice to wrestler Vinesh Phogat over her disqualification from the 2024 Paris Olympics and questioned how the federation could call the incident a "national shame".

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A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia also questioned the Centre over its inaction and said the federation should not act in vengeance while dealing with Phogat's participation in the Asian Games selection trials, Bar & Bench reports.

During the hearing, the Court was informed that the Central government had not barred Phogat from participating in the trials and that if she cleared them, the government was ready to invoke the exemption clause to allow her to compete in the Asian Games.

The Centre also said the Sports Ministry was ready to appoint an observer from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and ensure that the trials were video recorded.

The Bench then requested the WFI to allow Phogat to participate in the trials. However, counsel for the federation sought time till May 25 and said Phogat could submit a representation seeking exemption from the eligibility criteria. The Court declined the request and said it would pass orders.