Vinesh Phogat-WFI battle continues, wrestlers conduct national trials under lens

The battle between Vinesh Phogat and the Wrestling Federation of India is far from over as the governing body is set to review the behavior of wrestlers during the national trials recently. Vinesh’s time in the competition was marred by controversy, particularly during her quarter-final match.

Controversy erupted when Vinesh, who was 0-5 against Nish, was denied a pinfall finish after the referee stopped the action and awarded her 4 points instead. The decision sparked protests from her camp when her husband Somvir Rathee entered the field and threw a water bottle on the pad. Vinesh challenged and won.

Moments later, another controversial decision saw Vinesh awarded 2 points instead of the 4 her camp expected for the arm roll. This time her challenge was unsuccessful.

The situation escalated when Vinesh and her coaches demanded to see the video footage used in the review, but were not shown it. With the control screen allegedly malfunctioning, tensions escalated further, leading to a heated exchange of words between WFI president Sanjay Singh, his entourage and Vinesh’s support staff, temporarily halting the proceedings.

The WFI has now released a statement revealing that they have received a response to the show-cause notice they sent to Vinesh, saying it will be judged according to their rules and procedures.

“WFI has received the respondent’s (Vinesh) response to the Show Cause Notice, which will be considered in accordance with WFI rules and procedures,” WFI president Sanjay Kumar Singh said in a statement.

The WFI chief also hinted that they will look into the conduct of the athletes at the national trials without revealing Vinesh’s name directly.

“The WFI further notes that the conduct of some wrestlers at the selection trials is under consideration and a decision in this regard is yet to be taken,” the statement said.

NO SHORTCUTS FOR CHOOSING

The WFI also stated that all future selections for tournaments would be made on merit, regardless of a wrestler’s stature or previous achievements.

“The WFI wishes to make it unequivocally clear that all future selections will be strictly based on merit, without exception or exception for any wrestler, regardless of stature or past achievements.”

“There will be no shortcuts to national selection,” it said.

Vinesh recently won against the WFI when the Supreme Court rejected the federation’s plea to stay the Olympian’s participation in the courts.

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Published on:

05 Jun 2026 10:14 IST