‘Ineligible’ to participate in trials, Vinesh moves court

Vinesh Phogat on Wednesday moved the Delhi High Court seeking a chance to fight for her place in India’s squad for the 2026 Senior World Wrestling Championships, challenging a Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) selection framework that she says excludes her for missing competitions during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum recovery. newsbetting.cv

Phogat has made it clear that she is not seeking automatic selection. Instead, she wants to be allowed to compete in the women’s selection trials scheduled for September 14 at the Indira Gandhi Stadium, with her eventual selection to depend entirely on her performance. The Senior World Wrestling Championships are scheduled to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, from October 24 to November 1.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma asked counsel appearing for the WFI to obtain instructions on Phogat’s application and listed the matter for hearing on Thursday.

In her application, Phogat has sought a stay on the operation of the WFI’s September 7 circular to the extent that it excludes her from the selection process. She has also sought a direction to the federation to provisionally include her in the eligibility pool and allow her to participate in the trials.

The fresh application has been moved in Phogat’s pending petition seeking formulation of a policy for women athletes returning to competitive sport after pregnancy and maternity leave.

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At the heart of her challenge is the WFI’s eligibility framework for the trials, which Phogat has described as creating a “closed" pathway by linking eligibility to participation and performance in specified competitions.

Under the circular, the women’s trials will be conducted in six Olympics weight categories. Those eligible include medal winners of the 2025 Senior National Wrestling Championship, the 2026 Senior Open Ranking Tournament at Gonda and the 2026 U23 National Wrestling Championship, besides specified Federation Cup medallists, wrestlers attending the national coaching camp and those selected for the 2026 U20 World Wrestling Championship.

Phogat has argued that she does not fall into any of these categories because her absence from the qualifying competitions was linked to pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum recovery and requirements associated with her return to competitive wrestling.

Her case is that the selection framework provides no mechanism for dealing with a woman athlete who could not participate in the prescribed qualifying events for maternity-related reasons.

Phogat has also relied upon her performance at the Asian Games selection trials on May 30, where she competed in the 53kg category, won her quarterfinal bout and advanced to the semifinals.

She has clarified that the performance is not being cited to claim an automatic place in the Indian team, but as evidence that she has returned to competitive wrestling and should therefore be allowed to enter the World Championships selection trials.

“The Asian Games Selection Trials performance is a relevant circumstance" in determining whether she should be permitted to participate in the September 14 trials, the application states, adding that the ultimate selection can thereafter be made “solely" on the basis of her performance in those trials.

Phogat has argued that the WFI cannot rely on her absence from competitions she could not participate in because of maternity-related circumstances while simultaneously disregarding her subsequent performance after she was given an opportunity to return to competition.

There is an old maxim that goes something along the lines of: ‘Good is not enough when better is expected, and better is not enough when you can become the best.’ Maybe, just maybe, when Ishan Kishan found himself in the wilderness, he ended up reciting this line every single day.

With impressive performances in domestic cricket and for India in T20Is, he barged through the T20 World Cup selection door. Some months later, with the selectors watching, Kishan finished with a memorable 270 in the Duleep Trophy final in Chennai. He followed that up with an 80 in the second innings.

With the sheer weight of runs behind him, Kishan would certainly have given the national selectors food for thought about his potential in the longest format. Of course, the sceptics would argue that Kishan compiled those runs on a placid surface. But more than the runs he accumulated, it was his zen-masterly concentration that stood out.

Be it just before a lunch or tea break, or when the opposition tried to induce a false shot with four fielders square and behind square on the on side, Kishan’s concentration did not waver one bit. His long vigil at the crease would have convinced the selectors, to some extent, that he is more than just a T20 cricketer.

On his part, Kishan observed that being the captain of the East Zone side had helped him build a strong foundation.

“When you are the captain of the team, the first thing [you develop] is situational awareness,” Kishan said after scoring 270 off 334 balls in the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone. “You have to stay alert the entire day on the field to understand what is happening and what isn’t. You have to take care of all your team-mates. There are so many small things we often overlook in our daily routines – you don’t look at your players or try to help them figure out how they can get better. But when you are the captain, it becomes your duty to help them.

“You will have to take responsibility. If you don’t take it now, when will you? It’s not like I am 22 years old and have just broken into the team. Going through this whole [leadership] process leads to immense personal growth, and while you might not realise it immediately, your mindset shifts completely, and you become much calmer about things.”

Having showered praise on Kishan, however, his chances of breaking open the Test-selection door immediately look remote. As a wicketkeeper-batter, he is up against Rishabh Pant, one of India’s finest Test cricketers, alongside Dhruv Jurel, who has also done well in the limited opportunities he has had in Test cricket.

Even if Kishan were to be considered as a pure batter, there is Sarfaraz Khan waiting in the wings. Tilak Varma himself has put together gritty performances in the ongoing Duleep Trophy.

Kishan, though, would have just one thought in his mind: accumulate as many runs as possible and leave it to the selectors to decide his fate in the longest format of the game.

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Manchester [UK], September 10 (ANI): Manchester United had the opportunity to sign Kylian Mbappe during his teenage years at Monaco but decided against pursuing the future France superstar, former club winger Ryan Giggs has revealed.

Giggs, United’s record appearance holder, said the club became aware of Mbappe during his time as a youth player at Monaco in 2015, when the former Wales international was serving as an assistant to manager Louis van Gaal, according to ESPN.

Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Giggs recalled being approached in southern France by a man who urged him to watch the young Mbappe.

“So, I’m in the south of France. I was coaching United, so it’d be 2015. I’ve been for a walk in the local village and I’m walking back to the hotel. I’m walking on the beach back to the hotel. And you can feel, I can feel someone, you know, when you feel someone like following you," he said, according to ESPN.

Giggs added, “And I’m like, I get to the hotel and then all of a sudden I can feel someone coming up to me. Anyway, this guy is called Lionel, French guy. So he comes up to me and says ‘hi, I’m Lionel. I just wanted to just say hello. I’m a big United fan and big fan of yours. But I watch a lot of youth football in France, and you have to look at this player. He’s called Kylian Mbappé. He’s at Monaco, and I think he’s a player for Man United.'"

Giggs said he subsequently passed the information to then United assistant coach Albert Stuivenberg, with the pair going to watch several Monaco youth matches.

“A few weeks later, he emailed me all the details. So me and Albert [Stuivenberg] again, who’s the coach with Arsenal, he was another assistant at United at the time. We used to in the afternoons just go and watch games or go and watch players at the training ground. So anyway, I’ve told him about this thing. He says ‘come on, let’s get him up.’ And we got a few youth games with Monaco and we seen him and just like, ‘wow, what is this?’ You know, you can see players and they can be special, but he did look exceptional, obviously," said Giggs.

United’s scouting team subsequently watched Mbappe during a Monaco match against Paris Saint-Germain, but the club ultimately decided not to pursue the forward.

He further added, “So anyway, we told the scouting team. They went to watch him. Someone in France went to watch him and he was actually playing PSG. Monaco were playing PSG. So they went to Paris to watch him. Anyway, I think a few weeks later, I said to this guy ‘how did it go?’ and he went ‘yeah, they weren’t too sure about him, so we just left it, and that was it.'"

Mbappe went on to join Paris Saint-Germain on loan from Monaco in 2017 before making the move permanent the following year. He later established himself as one of the world’s leading forwards with PSG, Real Madrid and France.

The Frenchman has won the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot twice, in 2022 and 2026, becoming the first player to claim the award on two occasions. He also won the Golden Boy award in 2017 and the Kopa Trophy in 2018.

Mbappe was part of France’s 2018 World Cup-winning side and also won the UEFA Nations League in 2021. He finished as the World Cup runner-up in 2022 before helping France to further success on the international stage.

His prolific scoring record has also seen him collect multiple Ligue 1 Player of the Year honours and major domestic scoring awards.

At the 2026 World Cup, Mbappe further enhanced his legacy by becoming the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history with 22 career goals. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

India vs Afghanistan2026 T20: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors had selected four cricketers subject to them getting a fitness clearance from the Centre of Excellence (CoE) ahead of the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan which begins at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday. The good news for Shreyas Iyer’s side is that three out of those four cricketers – Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Jasprit Bumrah – have been declared fit and should be available for the Afghanistan T20I games.

The only cricketer who is still likely to be ruled out for the three-match series will be Delhi and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Harshit Rana, who had made his comeback against Afghanistan in ODI series earlier this year. But the biggest good news for the reigning T20 World Cup champions will be the availability of Bumrah, who has been out of action since the second ODI match against England in July this year – same as all-rounder Washington Sundar.

The selectors wanted to pick Bumrah only for ODIs and Test matches in the lead up to the ICC ODI World Cup 2027 but want to test his fitness in the shorter format of the game this month. Bumrah and all-rounder Nitish Reddy, nursing knee and quadriceps injury respectively, were included in the India squad subject to fitness.

Bumrah has been out of action since India’s ODI tour to England in July with a left knee injury. “Both Bumrah and Reddy are on track for their comeback,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by PTI news agency.

The 32-year-old pacer has claimed 121 wickets for Team India in T20I cricket in 95 matches at an amazing average of 18.08. His last T20I match was the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 final against New Zealand in March this year.

Best Bowling Average for India
(Min 100 Wickets)

In TEST – Jasprit Bumrah (19.79)
In ODI – Jasprit Bumrah (23.74)
In T20I – Jasprit Bumrah (18.08)
All formats – Jasprit Bumrah (20.56)

Apart from him, “No other batter or bowler” has topped the charts in all three formats for… pic.twitter.com/tChaD4JbCg

— (@Shebas_10dulkar) September 1, 2026

Harshit Rana to spend more time on sidelines

Rana, who was retained for Rs 4 crore by Shah Rukh Khan’s KKR ahead of IPL 2026, last played T20I cricket for India on the tour of England. He is unlikely to be fit in time for the three match series against Afghanistan beginning on September 13.

Rana was also included in the India squad for the three games in Delhi subject to fitness. He was also named in the Asian Games 2026 squad. “He has not yet fully recovered from his hamstring injury. He will need more time,” a BCCI source told PTI.

Rana was nursing a hamstring injury like Washington Sundar, who has been deemed fit for the Afghanistan series. After the Afghanistan series, India play a one-off game against Japan in Tokyo on September 22. They will open their Asian Games 2026 campaign with a semifinal on September 28.