"Not a matter that concerns me": Brij Bhushan claims no role in WFI declaring Vinesh 'ineligible'

Former BJP MP and former President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Tuesday claimed no role in the wrestling body's decisions after Vinesh Phogat was declared ineligible to compete in the National Open Ranking Tournament in Gonda. Delhi's Rouse Avenue court recorded the statement of a member of the SIT in the sexual harassment case against Brij Bhushan Singh. The court has listed the matter for the recording of the statement of the investigation officer (IO) on May 15 and May 19. Denying Vinesh Phogat's allegations, Brij Bhushan claimed that the WFI never prevents any athlete from competing in a tournament. The former WFI chief said, "I am currently cleaning up the mess that this lady left behind.

Furthermore, the question of where a wrestling match will or will not take place is not a matter that concerns me. That subject currently falls under the purview of the WFI--the Wrestling Federation of India. It is for them to decide where matches will be held, where they won't, who gets to compete, and who does not." "However, since I have served as the president of the Wrestling Federation of India. Therefore, based on my own experience, I state that the WFI never prevents any athlete from competing. This is because the WFI exists solely for the athletes. If anyone was indeed prevented from competing, the reason for doing so must have been provided," he added. The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) had issued a show-cause notice to Vinesh Phogat on May 9, in which the three-time Olympian was accused of indiscipline and alleged anti-doping violations and was declared ineligible to compete in the National Open Ranking Tournament in Gonda. On Monday, she said that she was neither allowed to complete her verification nor permitted to use the training hall at Gonda, where she had gone to participate in the 2026 Senior Open Ranking Tournament. Replying to the show-cause notice, Vinesh Phogat said she had written approval from the International Testing Agency (ITA) allowing her to compete from January 1 and had also been permitted to register for the tournament in Gonda. The recent row began when wrestler Vinesh Phogat revealed that she is one of the six women wrestlers who had filed sexual harassment complaints against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Vinesh Phogat was one of the leading faces of the wrestlers' protest in 2023.