Vinesh Phogat Alleges Wrestling Federation of India Blocking Her Tournament Entry

Congress MLA and wrestler from Julana, Haryana, Vinesh Phogat, has made another serious accusation against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). According to her allegations, the organization is deliberately preventing her from participating in the upcoming National Open Ranking Tournament in May. As per her claims, although the last date of registration was April 30, the WFI portal has already been closed for registrations.

The Senior Open Ranking Tournament will be held from May 10 to May 12 at Nandininagar College in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh. The last date of registration was April 30; however, Vinesh claims that she wasn’t able to do so, as the portal was already closed for registrations by WFI. Moreover, their administrative staff isn’t responding to her calls either. She said, "I was hoping to make a comeback through the National Open Ranking Tournament. Registrations for this tournament were open until April 30th. But when I tried to register, the portal showed that registrations were closed. I've been trying to contact the Wrestling Federation's administrative staff repeatedly, but they aren't answering my calls. It seems like they're preventing me from making a comeback."

Vinesh further said, "I also wanted to participate in the Federation Cup, but the team selection rules were changed at the last minute, which prevented me from participating. It seems like this is a deliberate attempt to prevent me from participating in the competition, especially since this is a very important tournament to maintain my claim for the Asian Games and World Championship selection trials." Earlier in February of this year, Vinesh had also targeted the Haryana Wrestling Association. She had called the team selection criteria for the Federation Cup 2026 unfair. It is noteworthy that Vinesh had announced her retirement and entered politics just hours after being disqualified from the Paris Olympics 2024. However, she later changed her decision to retire and is now preparing to make a comeback.