The Wrestling Federation of India has announced a new policy according to which one can be eligible for national selection only if he/she attends the national camps. It also includes quote category winners from the Olympic Games to appear in a final selection trial.
This policy was introduced at the recent General Council meeting during the Nationals held in Ahmedabad. Before the announcement, the policy was presented to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) for any required feedback or review.
The policy stated, “Participation in the National Coaching Camp is mandatory for all wrestlers, including elite and iconic athletes. To be eligible for the camp, a wrestler must have won a medal in the National Championship of the concerned year.”
“Once selected, wrestlers are required to train exclusively at the designated national camp. No athlete is permitted to train independently at any other venue,” the policy also stated.
In case a wrestler fails to attend the camp, he/she will be made ineligible to participate in the nationals selection trials. A provision list has also been kept for reserved wrestlers who will be called in case of replacing any injured participating athlete. Besides this, another restriction as per the policy is that the past performances of the wrestlers won’t be considered for the nationals selection.
A WFI official stated, “We are not going to give trials exemption to anyone. No athlete can sit on past achievements. In the past, a few athletes had asked for an exemption, which is not fair to up-and-coming wrestlers. WFI will give equal opportunity to all.”
The national selection committee will be headed by WFI President Sanjay Singh. The committee also includes the Secretary General or Vice-President, a Dronacharya/Arjuna/Dhyanchand awardee, along with a chief and a foreign coach of that discipline.
Vinesh Phogat is making comeback
Three-time Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Friday, December 12, 2025, announced that she will return to the wrestling ring after reversing her retirement call made last year. However, she will also have to take part in the national camp to make her eligible for selection in the national team.
She has currently aimed to participate in the Los Angeles Olympics scheduled in 2028. With good hopes after suffering disappointments in the 2024 Paris Olympics. It was during that time that she suffered heartbreak after getting disqualified for being 100 grams overweight and becoming ineligible to participate in the 50kg finals event at the Paris Games. It was after that that she made her retirement call.
