New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has permitted wrestler Vinesh Phogat to participate in the Asian Games 2026 selection trials, holding that motherhood cannot be treated as a “disability” or a ground for exclusion from professional opportunities.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, while questioning the exclusionary nature of the eligibility criteria framed by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), directed the federation to allow Phogat to participate in the trials scheduled for May 30 and 31 and ordered that the process be video-recorded.
“Motherhood must be viewed as a natural and deeply significant aspect of life that deserves accommodation and institutional sensitivity. Therefore, the law must ensure that motherhood does not become a ground for exclusion or marginalisation of female athletes such as the Appellant,” the Delhi High Court said.
Allowing Phogat’s appeal against the earlier interim order passed by a single judge, the CJ Upadhyaya-led Bench said the three-time Olympian had made out a prima facie case against the WFI’s Asian Games selection policy and the circular restricting participation in the trials to medal winners of select domestic events conducted in 2025 and 2026.
It observed that the policy framework failed to account for Phogat’s maternity-related sabbatical and post-partum recovery period, which coincided with the qualifying tournaments prescribed under the eligibility criteria.