NADA suspends Bajrang Punia for four years over anti-doping code violation

Ace wrestler Bajrang Punia is in the midst of controversy after being banned by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for four years. The Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) found Bajrang guilty of violating its Rule 2.3 (Evading, Refusing or Failing to Submit to Sample Collection...).

The Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist, Bajrang, was handed the ban for having refused to provide his urine sample to the agency. The Disciplinary Panel came to this decision after extended hearing sessions. The ADDP judgment states that the renowned wrestler failed to ‘satisfy criteria’ of article 2.3 of the ADR.

“In the opinion of this Panel, the defence of the Athlete to no extent whatsoever can satisfy the criteria for a ‘compelling justification’ as outlined in Article 2.3 of the ADR. An Athlete cannot escape liability on account of unanswered inquiries which he had posed to NADA. On the contrary the Athlete is expected to cooperate fully during the testing procedure," states the judgement. (via The New Indian Express)

The ban on the Haryana-born wrestler will begin from the date of notification sent to him (April 23, 2024). The hearings were conducted by the panel on September 30 and October 10.

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Bajrang Punia argues his case by explaining the reason behind him violating the anti-doping rule

During the case, Bajrang Punia argued through his lawyer that the notice of charge issued against him was "erroneous and fundamentally flawed in law." The 30-year-old stated that he did not receive any response from the agency to his email related to the utilization of expired testing kits in the past.

Bajrang contended that he refused to provide the sample to NADA due to that reason. The athlete can now knock on the doors of the Anti-Doping Appeals Panel if he wants to challenge the judgment.

The ban comes in as another chapter in Bajrang Punia's recent tryst with controversies. Lately, the wrestler was also leading a protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the former Chief of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).