Days after molestation claim, wrestler Vinesh Phogat ticked off for missed doping test

The International Testing Agency (ITA) has notified wrestler Vinesh Phogat for missing an out-of-competition doping test, which construes as a first “whereabouts failure”.

The notice will not affect her chances of taking part in the 2026 Senior Open Ranking Tournament that is scheduled to be held in Nandini Nagar, Gonda, from May 10 to 12 as it is only the first warning.

The notice comes days after she came out in the open as one of the six victims who had lodged a sexual harassment complaint against former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. In a social media post on Sunday, Vinesh also raised concerns about the neutrality of the referees during the competition.

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In the letter dated May 5, the testing agency said the doping control officer could not locate her during the designated testing window on December 18, 2025. The letter also acknowledged her reply and stated that as an elected member of the Legislative Assembly, she was in Chandigarh for the House proceedings and travelled from Bengaluru to attend the winter session. Athletes who are part of the registered testing pool have to routinely update their whereabouts in the system, where they have to submit information regarding their whereabouts with specific date and time for the next three months. If the whereabouts change, the athlete has to update the information on ADAMS. The ITA ruled that she failed to update information regarding her whereabouts in time.

“In light of the above, the ITA finds that you were unable to establish that no negligent behaviour on your part caused or contributed to your failure to update your whereabouts filings and be available and accessible for testing. Therefore, the ITA has decided to record this miss test,” reads the letter.