The Delhi High Court on Friday came down heavily on the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) over wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s exclusion from the Asian Games selection trials, observing that India was a country that celebrated motherhood and not one that penalised women athletes for pregnancy and childbirth.The court also questioned the federation for describing Phogat’s Paris Olympics disqualification as a “national embarrassment”, observing that the WFI appeared to be blaming an athlete instead of fixing accountability on sports administrators.Hearing Phogat’s appeal against her exclusion from the trials, a Division Bench led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia questioned the conduct of the WFI and remarked that the country had stood behind the wrestler after the Olympic setback rather than treating it as a matter of shame.The Bench observed that the mishap had occurred during the Olympics final and asked how the federation could term it a national disgrace when people across the country had continued to support her. The court remarked that instead of identifying lapses within the system, the WFI appeared to have chosen to target the athlete herself.The Bench also raised serious concerns over changes made to the federation’s policy governing eligibility for Asian Games trials. The revised policy issued earlier this year restricted participation to medal winners from select tournaments conducted in 2025 and 2026. Phogat argued that the revised criteria effectively excluded her because the eligibility window overlapped with her pregnancy, childbirth and post-partum recovery period.Appearing for Phogat, senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao told the court that the wrestler had resumed eligibility to compete from January 2026 and that her registration for events had already been accepted before she was stopped at the last moment. He argued that the federation’s actions reflected desperation and arbitrariness. The court repeatedly questioned whether the rules had been altered specifically to prevent Phogat’s return.Referring to her becoming a mother in July last year, the Bench observed that India was a country that celebrated motherhood and not one that penalised women athletes for it. It further noted that Phogat was an internationally accomplished wrestler and asked why the court should not presume that the policy change was directed against her.The judges also pulled up the Centre for remaining silent over the federation’s actions. During the hearing, the Bench questioned whether the Sports Ministry had approved such notices and termed the developments a “retrograde step”.Counsel for the Union Government informed the court that the Centre itself was shocked by the contents of the show-cause notice issued to Phogat.The Bench then pressed for an immediate solution and asked the authorities to constitute a panel of experts to examine the wrestler so that she could participate in the trials.Observing that the matter merely concerned participation in a sporting trial and not appointment to a constitutional office, the court said there was no reason to deny her the opportunity.Later in the day, the Centre informed the court that it had not barred Phogat from competing and was willing to invoke the exemption clause if she cleared the trials. The government also assured the Bench that an observer from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) would oversee the process and that the trials would be video recorded.While the WFI sought time till May 25 and asked the wrestler to submit a representation seeking exemption, the Division Bench refused to defer the matter and indicated that it would pass orders.