‘I will prove my innocence’: Vinesh Phogat responds to WFI’s show-cause notice

Vinesh Fugat has issued a strong response to the show-cause notice from the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), insisting that she is fully eligible to return to competitive wrestling and rejecting some of the federation’s claims regarding timelines and irregularities.

In a detailed statement, Vinesh confirmed receipt of the May 9, 2026 notice and said she would formally respond after consulting her legal team. However, she also publicly responded to the matter, saying there was a misunderstanding about her comeback timetable. “The WFI misunderstood my timetable from sporting leave to my subsequent return to training and competition,” she said. She further clarified that contrary to the federation’s claim that she would only be eligible to compete from June 26, 2026, “I have been deemed eligible to resume formal training and competition on January 1, 2026.” Vinesh added that she has received “official confirmation from the International Testing Agency (ITA)” and is therefore eligible to participate in the ongoing Gonda Senior Open Ranking Tournament 2026. She confirmed, “I do intend to compete and mark my return to competition at a competitive event.” Discussing the anti-doping related charges, she said the whereabouts failures and missed checks cited by the WFI did not constitute anti-doping rule violations, stating “these actions do not constitute anti-doping rule violations under the National Anti-Doping Rules 2021 or the World Anti-Doping Agency Rules 2021”. She also rejected talk of participating in multiple weight classes in the 2024 selection trials, saying: “The ad hoc committee that governed the WFI at the time was well aware of my participation and did not raise any objections.” Vinesh added that she would submit a detailed reply within 14 days and said: “I will prove my innocence and continue to prepare myself as I get closer to returning to competition.” However, the WFI insists she remains ineligible until June 26, 2026 due to retirement-to-return provisions under anti-doping rules. It also pointed to issues including her disqualification from the 2024 Paris Olympics for being underweight and alleged procedural breaches. Meanwhile, Vinesh remains firm on her stance that she has complied with all international requirements, including notifications united world wrestling (UWW) She returned early as required by retired athlete rules.