Delhi high court dismisses woman wrestler's plea for participation in Commonwealth Games

The Delhi high court today dismissed a woman wrestler's plea challenging the selection process of players for the sport in the Commonwealth Games, scheduled from October 3 to October 14, 2010, here.

Dismissing the plea of Sonika Kaliraman and three other wrestlers who were not called for selection trial for the Games, justice S Muralidhar said there is no "arbitrariness" on the part of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) in rejecting their participation in the game.

"Irrespective of past performances, the Federation is supposed to select players with good current performance," Justice Muralidhar said while dismissing their plea of that they had good track record in the game.

Sonika, a well known Indian wrestler and daughter of world famous wrestler Chandagi Ram, had alleged that the selection procedure adopted by the WFI was unfair.

"The petitioner has been completely denied to prove her full ability without any fault of hers. The petitioner is a fit person and deserves a selection trial or a chance to participate in the Commonwealth Games," she had contended.

Earlier, the high court had issued notices to the Central Government, the Indian Olympic Association and the Wrestling Federation of India over the petition.