FILE PHOTO: Asian Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat intended to return to competitive wrestling in the 57kg category at the ongoing Senior Open Ranking tournament on the Nandininagar Mahavidyalaya campus. | Photo Credit: AP

Vinesh Phogat said that she is eligible to compete in events as the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has misinterpreted the timelines of her break from the sport and the subsequent return in a social media post on Monday.

Asian Games gold medallist Vinesh was issued a 15-page show-cause notice, accusing her of indiscipline and anti-doping rule violations by the federation, while also declaring her ineligible to compete in domestic events till June 26. It shot down her attempt to come back to competitive wrestling – in the 57kg category at the ongoing Senior Open Ranking tournament on the Nandininagar Mahavidyalaya campus – following her post-Paris “sabbatical.”

In the 15-page show-cause, the WFI highlighted the issue of Vinesh failing to meet the weight stipulation on the second day after reaching the 50kg final at the Paris Olympics. It said Vinesh was “duty bound” under UWW rules to stick to the limit and her disqualification resulted in a loss of medal, negative publicity and reputational damage to the WFI.

The 31-year-old wrestler from Haryana mentioned that she will give detailed responses to each claim made in the notice within the next fourteen days, after consultation with her legal team and advisors.

However, she did provide clarification regarding few matters in a long post on social media.

Vinesh said, “The WFI has misinterpreted the timelines of my sabbatical from sport and subsequent return to training and competitions. As opposed to the date stated by the WFI in their notice, i.e., June 26, 2026, I have been deemed eligible to return to official training and competition on January 1, 2026. I have official confirmation from the International Testing Agency (ITA) the agency hired by the international federation UWW, the relevant international federation governing doping control for wrestling, pertaining to the same.”

“Therefore, I am eligible to participate in the 2026 Senior Open Ranking Tournament at Nandini Nagar, Gonda scheduled for May 10-12, 2026. Having completed my registration for the same, I do intend to participate in the Tournament and mark my return to the mat in a competitive event.”

She also mentioned that she did not commit any anti-doping rule violations. “With respect to the whereabouts failure from September 2024 and the Missed Test from December 2025, I confirm that I have co-operated soth the relevant result management authorities promptly, and that both events do not amount to anti-doping rule violations per the National Anti-Doping Rules, 2021 or the WADA Code, 2021,” she wrote.

As far as participating in two weight categories during the trials for an Olympic qualifier in 2024 is concerned, Vinesh argued that there was no objection at the time. “The allegation that I violated various rules by participating in two separate weight categories at the 2024 Selection Trials at NIS Panala is also false, as the Ad-Hoc Committee governing the WFI at that point of time was well aware of my participation and made no objection at such stage while allowing me to participate,” she said.

Published on May 11, 2026