Vinesh Phogat arrived in Gonda on Monday and reiterated that she is eligible to return to competition despite the ongoing standoff with the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), which has maintained that the star wrestler cannot compete in the National Open Ranking Tournament until disciplinary proceedings against her are completed.According to a PTI report, Vinesh immediately responded to the show-cause notice issued by the WFI after landing in Ayodhya, arguing that Rule 5.6.1 of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code on retired athletes did not apply to his case.The wrestler claimed that she had already informed. United World Wrestling (UWW) had announced in June about its intention to resume competition after retirement and therefore complied with the required procedures for a comeback.
WFI is not satisfied with Vinesh’s response.
However, WFI sources told PTI that the federation was not satisfied with the explanation provided by Vinesh.“The response is not sufficient. He has not responded to the entire show cause notice. He cannot be allowed to compete until a disciplinary hearing is held and the matter is decided,” a WFI source told PTI.The federation had earlier disqualified Vinesh from domestic competition until June 26, 2026, citing the mandatory six-month notice period attached to returning retired athletes under anti-doping regulations.The controversy escalated when the WFI accused Vinesh in a strongly worded notice of discipline, violation of federation rules and procedural lapses related to anti-doping.The retirement row adds to the confusion.Vinesh had announced her retirement after being heartbroken by her disqualification ahead of the women’s 50kg gold medal event at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.While her husband recently claimed that he never officially retired and only posted about it on social media, the WFI has insisted that the UWW spoke in December 2024 that Vinesh had informed the International Testing Agency (ITA) of his retirement.However, Vinesh continued to argue that he later informed the UWW about reversing the decision and was therefore eligible to compete in Gonda.The women’s flyweight bouts will take place on Monday between 5pm and 7pm, with the bouts starting on Tuesday.
