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The Delhi High Court has denied Vinesh Phogat interim permission to compete in WFI selection trials for the 2026 Senior World Wrestling Championships, saying an exemption from eligibility rules could create a special exception. The court left the policy's final validity open.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has refused to grant wrestler Vinesh Phogat interim permission to participate in the Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) selection trials for the 2026 Senior World Wrestling Championships, holding that allowing her to compete despite not meeting the prescribed eligibility criteria would amount to creating a special exception in her favour.

Justice dismissed Phogat’s application seeking provisional inclusion in the eligibility pool for the Women’s Selection Trials scheduled for September 14 at Indira Gandhi Stadium, New Delhi.

The Court, however, made clear that it was not expressing any final opinion on the validity of WFI’s September 7 eligibility circular or the pending disciplinary proceedings against Phogat.

Phogat had argued that she could not participate in several qualifying competitions because she was away from competitive wrestling due to pregnancy, childbirth and post-partum recovery. She also contended that she was prevented from participating in the Senior Open Ranking Tournament at Gonda because WFI had issued a show-cause notice against her shortly before the event.