The dispute between Vinesh Phogat and the Wrestling Federation of India continues to escalate. Last week, the federation barred Vinesh from participating in any event until June 26, effectively ruling her out of the National Open Ranking Tournament held in Gonda from May 10 to 12.
The WFI also issued a show cause notice to the 31 year old wrestler, accusing her of bringing disrepute to Indian wrestling following her disqualification at the Paris Olympics 2024 after failing to meet the weight requirement ahead of the women’s 50kg final. The federation additionally levelled charges of indiscipline and anti doping violations against her.
Despite being declared ineligible, Vinesh travelled to Gonda on Monday to meet WFI president Sanjay Singh. However, there has been no change in her status so far.
As the row intensified, Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik came out in support of Vinesh on Tuesday. Malik appealed to Narendra Modi to intervene and ensure Vinesh gets an opportunity to participate in trials and continue representing the country.
In a video shared on Instagram, Malik said she had been reflecting on the issue for several days, noting that while Vinesh is associated with a political party, she herself has no political affiliation. She added that in several countries, sports federations work to make things easier for athletes, including women returning to competition after motherhood.
Malik alleged that the federation had framed rules specifically to prevent Vinesh from making a comeback. She urged the Prime Minister, the sports minister and the WFI to allow Vinesh to compete in trials so she could continue winning medals for India.
Vinesh hits back at WFI
Vinesh, who narrowly missed an Olympic medal in Paris, strongly criticised the federation on Monday. Speaking to reporters, she accused the WFI of targeting her because she had spoken out against it.
She said she had represented India at the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and World Championships, questioning why she was being labelled part of the “Tukde Tukde gang.” Vinesh said such language made her feel unsafe and added that despite the accusations, she remains a respected citizen with the right to fight for herself.
Vinesh, who is also a Congress MLA, had planned to use the Gonda event as her comeback tournament after reversing her retirement decision.
After arriving in Gonda, she responded to the show cause notice by citing Clause 5.6.1 of the World Anti Doping Agency code. According to her explanation, the rule did not apply to her because she had already informed United World Wrestling in June about her intention to resume competition.
However, according to a PTI report, officials found her response unsatisfactory because it allegedly failed to address the disciplinary allegations detailed in the federation’s 15 page notice.
