EVEN before the wrestling bout could begin, the Delhi High Court had to play referee in a match that was being contested without the spirit of sports. The HC handed a massive relief to woman wrestler Vinesh Phogat by overturning the selection guidelines framed by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and allowed the Olympian to compete in the Asian Games trials. The Delhi HC verdict hands Vinesh a major boost after remaining in the eye of the storm over the last two years.

 

The Haryana MLA had been battling on various fronts, from leading protests against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh to enduring a heartbreak at the Paris Olympics. She will heave a huge sigh of relief after court intervention but will definitely ponder over her next move after the surprising silence of the Centre and the Sports Ministry on the selection controversy. The two-judge bench’s sharp rebuke to the WFI terming its actions towards Phogat as vindictive and questioning of the silence of the Sports Ministry shows Vinesh was deliberately being targeted for reasons other than sports. She had duly informed about her plans to compete in the Asian Games and was preparing for selection trials before the WFI deemed her ineligible for the trials after reworking its selection policy ahead of her return to competition. The Sanjay Singh-led WFI altered the rules to state that only reigning national champions from the previous season would be eligible to compete in the trials.

 

What was intriguing was the timing of the new rules. It gave away the dubious plan of the federation to settle score with Vinesh by keeping her away from the mat. The Delhi HC deserves applause for pulling up the federation’s “vindictive” and “retrograde” mindset. If a decorated wrestler is getting such treatment for issues not related to her sports, then there is something rotten in the entire system. Vinesh’s case against Brij Bhushan Singh on alleged sexual harassment of athletes is a legal matter and will take its due course to come to a verdict. However, the WFI seemed too eager to oblige its political masters by turning vindicative against the player. It was an unfair match and the High Court did well to raise the red-flag before things could get messier. However, what is of bigger surprise is the total silence of the Centre and reluctance of the Sports Ministry to intervene despite the nature of the notice sent to Vinesh. The WFI was clearly acting arbitrary by not taking the Sports Ministry into confidence before suddenly altering the rules. Yet, there was no word from the Government on the matter.

 

It smacked of a conspiracy at all levels against an athlete who is fighting a tough battle against a system dominated by political heavyweights. The Delhi HC was livid with this indifference of the Sports Ministry, and rightly so. Ignoring a retrograde step by a national sports federation by looking the other way while leaving a decorated athlete in lurch does not suit a Government that touts its solid backing to sportspersons. One hopes, the HC verdict sets a wider precedent for female athletes balancing motherhood and professional sport in India.