Sakshee Malikkh rallies behind Vinesh Phogat: Don't block a mother's right to compete
Olympic medalist Sakshee Malikkh hit out at the WFI for stalling Vinesh Phogat's historic return to wrestling. Citing global support for female athletes, she urged the government to remove bureaucratic barriers against the new mother.
In a stirring defense of her former teammate, Rio Olympic medalist Sakshee Malikkh has hit out at the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), accusing the body of creating a hostile environment for Vinesh, who is attempting to balance motherhood with elite competition.
Sakshee Malikkh's intervention follows the high-drama standoff in Gonda, where Vinesh Phogat, a three-time Olympian and recently elected MLA, was denied entry to the National Open Ranking Tournament. The denial, framed by the WFI as a procedural lapse regarding retirement notice periods, has been characterised by Malikkh as a targeted attempt to derail the wrestler's comeback.
Vinesh Phogat's return to the mat is a journey into uncharted territory for Indian wrestling. Having welcomed her son, Kridhav, in July 2025, Vinesh's bid to compete in the 57kg category in Gonda was meant to be her first professional outing as a mother and her first since she reversed her call to retire from the sport.
Sakshee Malikkhkh, speaking in a video statement, pointed to the global sporting landscape where motherhood is met with institutional support rather than red tape.
"I can give many examples where sports federations in other countries make rules easier for their athletes so that women there can continue to compete for the country and win medals even after becoming mothers. On the other hand, our federation brings in such rules just two days before so that Vinesh is unable to make a comeback," Sakshee said in a video on X on Tuesday.
"My humble request to the Honourable Prime Minister, the Honourable Sports Minister, and the Wrestling Federation is that Vinesh should be given trials, so that she too can win medals for the country, bring glory to the nation, and set an example that in our country as well, women can continue to play even after becoming mothers, can win medals, and can make the country proud."
THE PAPERWORK WAR
At the heart of the Gonda standoff is a fundamental disagreement over eligibility. The WFI maintains that Vinesh is ineligible until June 26, 2026, citing a mandatory six-month notice period for retired athletes under WADA Rule 5.6.1.
However, Vinesh has countered this with evidence from the highest levels of global anti-doping. She shared a letter from the International Testing Agency (ITA) – which manages the anti-doping program for United World Wrestling (UWW) – dated July 3, 2025. The letter explicitly confirms her eligibility to return to competition on January 1, 2026.
Addressing a missed doping test from December 2025 that the WFI cited in a 15-page show-cause notice, Vinesh explained that she missed one whereabouts filing during a chaotic period where she was balancing her newborn's care with a winter session of the Haryana Assembly.Background:
The tension in Gonda is the latest flare-up in a conflict that began in early 2023, when Vinesh, Sakshjee, and Bajrang Punia led a historic sit-in at Jantar Mantar against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The choice of Gonda, Brij Bhushan's political and personal stronghold, as the venue for Vinesh's comeback was always fraught with tension.
As the WFI maintains that Vinesh remains sidelined pending a disciplinary hearing, the message from the Rio medalist is clear: the federation should be building bridges for mothers in sport, not burning them.