Big action on Vinesh Phogat. (Photo- PTI)
Vinesh Phogat: The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has issued a show-cause notice to senior female wrestler Vinesh Phogat, accusing her of indiscipline and violation of anti-doping rules. The federation has also banned him from participating in domestic competitions till June 26, 2026. She had returned from retirement only last year and was going to participate in the National Open Ranking Wrestling Tournament in Gonda. Even before his return to wrestling after about 18 months, he suffered a major setback.
Big action on Vinesh Phogat
In this 15-page notice, the Indian Wrestling Federation has made serious allegations against Vinesh. The federation says that his conduct has tarnished the image of the country and harmed Indian wrestling. In this, there has been a violation of the WFI Constitution, international rules of United World Wrestling and anti-doping provisions. The federation has sought clarification from Vinesh on four allegations. These include disqualification from the 2024 Paris Olympics due to failure to meet weight cut, alleged location failures under anti-doping rules and competing in two different weight categories in the selection trials held in March 2024.
WFI has clearly stated that Vinesh will not be able to play any match at the domestic level due to not completing the six-month notice period under the UWW anti-doping rules for athletes returning from retirement. Due to this ban, his name will not be included in the National Open Ranking Tournament to be held in Gonda from 10 to 12 May, which was considered to be his comeback event. Vinesh Phogat has been given 14 days to respond to this notice.
Answer sought from Yashasvi Jaiswal also
Apart from Vinesh Phogat, the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has sent notices to Team India’s young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and women’s team’s young opener Shefali Verma for not being available for the test in December. Complaint has also been made to BCCI and ICC. This is called violation of the Whereabout Clause and Yashasvi-Shefali have violated the same. NADA has sent notices to both of them and sought their reply within 7 days.
