Supreme Court dismisses as ‘infructuous’ WFI appeal against Vinesh Phogat’s participation in Asian Games trials

Key points

• The Supreme Court on Thursday (June 4, 2026) dismissed an appeal filed by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) against a Delhi High Court order allowing senior wrestler Vinesh Phogat to participate in the selection trials for the Asian Games 2026. The court, however, clarified that the dismissal of the appeal should not be construed as an endorsement of the adverse observations made by the High Court against the federation.
• A Bench of Justices P.S.
• Narasimha and Aravind Kumar observed that the appeal had become infructuous since the selection trials had already been held, in which Ms. Phogat participated but lost.
• “In view of the subsequent developments, the present special leave petition has become infructuous”, the Bench said.
• On May 29, the Supreme Court had permitted Ms. Phogat to participate in the selection trials, while cautioning that swift and sweeping judicial interventions could sometimes aggravate disputes involving sporting bodies, athletes...