New Delhi: The Wrestling Federation of India has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court's order allowing grappler Vinesh Phogat to participate in the selection trials for the Asian Games 2026. A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe is scheduled to hear the Federation's plea on Friday.

On May 22, a division bench of the high court had given its nod to the participation of Phogat in the upcoming trials for the Asian Games, saying the WFI's selection policy was exclusionary for the lack of discretion to consider an iconic player like her, who is returning from a maternity break.

The high court had ordered that the selection trials, to be held on May 30-31, shall be video-recorded by the WFI and an independent observer from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) each shall also remain present.

"The appellant (Phogat) shall be permitted to participate in the selection trials for Asian Games, 2026, which are scheduled for May 30, 2026 and May 31, 2026," it had said.

The high court had said the standard for the selection trials marks significant deviation from the past practice, which provided for discretion for the selection of iconic players for the Asian Games, and added that the law must ensure that motherhood does not become a ground to exclude female athletes like Phogat. Motherhood, it had asserted, cannot be treated as a professional