EXCLUSIVE: WFI chief on Vinesh Phogat missing Asian Games trials: ‘No special favour’

Despite missing the Asian Games trials window, there is still hope for her to compete in the trials for the World Championships to be held in Manama, Bahrain, in October-November.

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“There was no reason for Vinesh to come here, as she was barred. But when Vinesh came to Gonda yesterday, the WFI briefed her about the reasons for which she was issued a show cause notice. She told me that she will give a detailed reply. Once she replies, a disciplinary committee of the WFI will take a call within 10 days. For the Asian Games, she won’t be able to make it because the trial is on May 30 for women wrestlers. Will she be able to give her detailed reply, and will the committee have time to take a call on her participation? I don’t think so. When it comes to the trials for the World Championships, the WFI will take a call depending on what she mentions in her reply,” Singh told this paper.

Karan Bhushan Singh (left) the Kaiserganj MP, UP wrestling chief and son for ex-WFI president Brij Bhushan Saran Singh being felicitated by WFI president Sanjay Singh in Gonda on Tuesday. Credit: Express Photo.

Vinesh had travelled to Gonda to verify for the women’s freestyle event, but the WFI had asked her to first file a detailed reply to the show cause notice issued on Saturday, which had listed disciplinary issues, anti-doping rule violations and incomplete eligibility period.

When asked if the WFI could have been lenient and allowed Vinesh to compete in Gonda and then take a call on her eligibility based on her reply to the show cause notice, the WFI president said that no wrestler will get special treatment. Moreover, the Open Ranking tournament in Gonda is not a qualifying tournament for the Asian Games trials, as per the WFI policy.

“It is not about how big or famous a wrestler is. Nobody is bigger than the WFI constitution. Aman Sehrawat, who is an Olympic medalist, could not maintain his weight during the World Championships (in 2025). He was also suspended by the WFI till he clarified about it. Rules can’t be changed or bent for anyone, else we will set a precedent for it. No wrestler will get any special favour, and we told Vinesh the same thing,” Singh added.

Delayed notice

Though Vinesh registered for the Open Ranking tournament before the April-end deadline, it took the WFI another 10 days to issue her a show cause notice, raising questions about its timing as it came three days before the start of the women’s freestyle event in Gonda. Singh claimed it was because of a procedural delay.

Vinesh Phogat speaks with media on being denied participation by the WFI in the National Open Ranking Tournament, in Ayodhya on Monday. (ANI Video Grab)

“Yes, Vinesh registered on time. The WFI had to look at the entries of all the participants, and we checked everyone’s data, including Vinesh’s. We realized that there were three to four issues that she had to clarify about. We consulted our legal team and issued a notice. There is no conspiracy to this.”

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Gonda is the home turf of former BJP Member of Parliament and ex WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was accused of sexual harassment by six women wrestlers in 2023. On May 3, Vinesh had said that she was one of the complainants.

“There is no security issue for Vinesh in Gonda. Yesterday, she came and toured the entire college campus. To say that girls are unsafe here is incorrect. Women wrestlers from around the country have come to Gonda, and everyone is safe. I had given Vinesh guarantee that she would be safe, and she returned without any safety issue.”

On Vinesh alleging that the WFI is creating hurdles in her return to competition, Singh dismissed it as a conspiracy theory. “There is no truth in that, and such things don’t make any sense. These are all conspiracy theories.”