The court emphasized the principle of fairness and transparency in the selection process for sports events, ensuring that meritorious athletes are not unjustly excluded from participation.

JUDGMENT

Prathiba M. Singh, J. (Oral)

1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.

2. The Petitioners are professional wrestlers, Mr. Anuj Kumar- Petitioner No. l, Mr. Chander Mohan- Petitioner No. 2, Mr. Vijay- Petitioner No.3, Mr. Ankit- Petitioner No.4 and Mr. Sachin Mor- Petitioner No.5, who have filed the present petition. The Petitioners are aggrieved by the rejection of their candidature for the trials which are commencing tomorrow i.e., 10th March, 2023 for selection for the Asian Championship 2023. It is the case of the Petitioners that only wrestlers who participate in the Asian Championship 2023 will be able to represent India in the 2023 Senior World Championship which are also the Olympic qualifiers.

3. The background of each of the Petitioners as per the petition is as under:

i. Petitioner No.1 secured a gold medal in the 65 Kg freestyle category in the 36th National Games organised by the Indian Olympic Association held at Gujarat. He secured 1st position in the 65 Kg freestyle category in the First National Ranking Tournament FS, GR, & WW organised by the WFI. Moreover, Petitioner No.1 had also qualified for the Under 23 World Championship, 2022 held in Spain. However, he could not travel due to the rejection of his visa.

ii. Petitioner No.2 secured second position in the 79 Kg freestyle category at the Under-23 FS, GR & Women National Wrestling Championship held in Kochi, Kerala. He also secured first position in the 79 Kg freestyle category at the 1st Under 17 WFI Grand Prix Wrestling Tournament held in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. Similar to Petitioner No.1, Petitioner No.2 also qualified for the U- 23 World Championship, 2022 held in Spain but he also could not participate due to rejection of his visa.

iii. Petitioner No.3 secured a gold medal in the Under-20 (Junior) FS, GR, Style & Women National Wrestling Championship conducted by WFI in Patna. He also secured gold medal in 74 Kg freestyle category in 2021 Junior Boys Freestyle Wrestling Championship held in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

iv. Petitioner No.4 secured bronze medal in 65 Kg freestyle category in the Under-17, World Championship, 2022 held in Rome, Italy. He also secured a gold medal in the 65 Kg freestyle category in the 1st U-17 National Open Ranking Wrestling Tournament, in FS, GR, WW, held at Panchkula, Haryana.

v. Petitioner No.5 secured a gold medal in 80 Kg freestyle category in Under-17 World Championship held at Rome in 2022 and also secured 2nd Position in 92 Kg freestyle category in the 2nd WFI Grand Prix Wrestling Tournament in Under-17 FS, GR, WW held at Rohtak, Haryana.

4. The case of the Petitioners is that they are meritorious wrestlers who have won several medals, both at the national and international level. The 2023 Asian Championship is to be held from 9th April, 2023 to 14th April, 2023 in Astana, Kazakhstan. For the said games, the trials are scheduled on 10th March, 2023 and 11th March, 2023. The Oversight Committee which has been appointed by Respondent No.1 to run the Wrestling Federation of India/Respondent No.2 has fixed the criteria for selection of wrestlers to participate in the trials for the Asian Championship, 2023 as under:

"1.1 Criteria for shortlisting of Athletes for Trials

A wrestler will become eligible to take part in the Asian Championship trials if he/she has been a medallist in at least one of the following events:

o 2023 1st Ranking Series Zagreb Open

o 2023 2nd Ranking Series, Ibrahim Moustafa Open, Egypt

o 2022 Senior Nationals Championship, Vizag

o 2022 World Championship

o 2022 Commonwealth Games

o 2022 Asian Championship

o 2022 U-23 World Championship

o 2022 U-20 World Championship

o 2022 U-20 Asian Championship

o 2022 U-23 Asian Championship

Based on the above criteria, 160 Athletes (55 in Freestyle, 46 in Greco Roman, 59 in Women Wrestling) are eligible to take part in the Asian Championship.

Once an athlete fulfils the eligibility criteria, he/she may change their weight category based on their preference for par