India’s Paralympic gold medalist, Pramod Bhagat has been suspended for 18 months due to whereabouts failure and will miss the Paris Paralympic Games 2024 starting by the end of August month
Bhagat’s suspension stems from his inability to provide location information for drug test purposes, resulting him in missing the event.
On March 01, the Court of Arbitration for Sport anti-doping division ruled out a badminton player due to disciplinary action as he failed to accumulate three whereabouts failures within 12 months.
“In 1 March 2024, the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) Anti-Doping Division found Bhagat in breach of the BWF anti-doping regulations for committing three whereabouts failures within 12 months,” BWF said in a statement.
Bhagat appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s Appeals Division, but it was rejected on July 29, 2024.
“Bhagat, an SL3 athlete, appealed this decision to the CAS Appeals Division. On 29 July 2024, the CAS Appeals Division dismissed Bhagat’s appeal and confirmed the CAS Anti-Doping Division decision of 1 March 2024. His period of ineligibility is now in effect,” the statement added.
Bhagat won a gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics in the men’s singles SL3 category, after defeating Daniel Bethell in the final. He was the first Indian to win a gold medal in badminton at the Paralympics. India won 5 gold medals in the Tokyo Olympics and has been ranked 20th in the Paralympic 2020 medal table.
He won his fourth singles world title, having previously won the same medal in the year 2015, 2019, and 2022. He also has a men’s doubles gold medal at global championships in 2013.
“It is extremely sad and unfortunate. He was a sure shot medal for India at the Paralympics but he is a fighter and I am sure he will come back stronger,” said para-badminton head coach Gaurav Khanna.
With the Paris Olympics concluded on August 11, the Paralympics are scheduled to start on August 28, featuring an 11-day competition before ending on September 08.
