Wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Friday accused the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) of trying to stop her from competing in the Olympic Qualifiers by creating logistical hurdles for her support staff.

The federation vehemently denied the charge and claimed that she applied after the deadline to send entries had expired.

The 29-year-old Phogat, who won 53kg bronze medals in the 2019 and 2022 World Championships besides a gold in the 2018 Asian Games (in 50kg), also said she fears she will be trapped in a doping case.

The WFI said Phogat’s request mail (for accreditation of her coach and physio) came on March 18 but by then it had already sent the entries of the players, coaches and the medical staff to United World Wrestling (UWW), the governing body, as the registration deadline was March 11.

A WFI official said the federation sent the entries around March 15 after UWW relaxed the deadline on its request because the trials were completed only on the last day of the deadline.

Phogat is eyeing an Olympic quota in the 50kg category in the Asian qualifying tournament next week in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. At the trials in Patiala, she had also competed in the 53kg category but lost in the semi-finals.

“Brijbhushan and his dummy Sanjay Singh are trying in every way to stop me from playing in the Olympics. All the coaches who have been appointed with the team are the favourites of Brijbhushan and his team, so it cannot be denied that they may mix something in my water and make me drink it during my match,” Phogat said in a post on his ‘X’ page. “If I say that there could be a conspiracy to trap me in doping, then it will not be wrong.”

Phogat alleged that her personal coach and physio were being denied accreditation for the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament starting April 19. “For the past one month, I have been requesting the Government of India (SAI, TOPS) for the accreditation of my coach and physio,” she said. “But despite repeated requests, I am not getting
any concrete answer from anywhere. “