India’s Tokyo Olympics bronze medal-winning wrestler, Bajrang Punia, was suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for four years for refusing to submit a sample for a doping test on March 10 during the national team selection trials.
Punia will not be allowed to participate in competitive wrestling nor seek coaching opportunities overseas, should he wish to do so.
The decission of suspension came after NADA had initially suspended Bajrang Punia on April 23 for the same offence, which led to a subsequent suspension by the World Governing Body, UWW.
On May 31, 2024, NADA’s Anti-Disciplinary Doping Panel (ADDP) lifted the suspension temporarily after Punia contested the initial provisional suspension. On June 23, NADA formally notified him of the charges.
Again, Punia challenged the order on July 11. Following this, hearings took place on September 20 and October 4.
The ADDP concluded that Bajrang was accountable for sanctions under Article 10.3.1, resulting in a four-year ban on his eligibility.
“The Panel holds that the Athlete is liable for sanctions under Article 10.3.1 and liable for ineligibility for a period of 4 years,” the ADDP said in its order.
“In the present case, since the Athlete had been provisionally suspended, the Panel accordingly holds that the Athlete’s period of his ineligibility for the period of 4 years shall commence from the date on which the notification was sent, i.e., 23.04.2024.
“Needless to say that on account of the lifting of the provisional suspension for the period from 31.05.2024 to 21.06.2024 shall not be credited into the total period of ineligibility of four years.”
However, Punia has consistently claimed that he was subjected to unfair treatment regarding doping control due to his involvement in protests against the former Wrestling Federation of India President, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
