Paris Paralympics: Para shuttler Pramod Bhagat suspended for 18 months, will miss Paris Paralympics
Paris Paralympics 2024: Olympic gold champion in parachuting Heartbroken, Pramod Bhagat was issued an 18-month penalty for violating the BWF's anti-doping whereabouts clause, which means he will not be able to defend his championship at the Paris Paralympics.
The governing body stated in a statement on Tuesday, "The Badminton World Federation can confirm that India's Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champion Pramod Bhagat has been suspended for a period of 18 months and will miss the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games."
"Bhagat was found in violation of the BWF anti-doping regulations on March 1, 2024, by the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) Anti-Doping Division for committing three whereabouts failures in a 12-month period."
The 36-year-old SL3 athlete expressed his sadness about the decision, citing a technological error as the cause. "I find this to be a really difficult choice. I appreciate WADA and recognise that they are setting a boundary for all players, but it is wrong to punish someone for technicalities," Bhagat said.
"It's not like there's a substance problem; rather, it's a whereabouts failure issue; I missed the test twice because I was somewhere else, but I have all the documentation that shows I filed for the third time." However, they rejected my appeal.
It's a significant loss for me. Paris is a major event for every athlete, therefore I was getting ready for it. If I had been awarded a medal. It is devastating," Bhagat continued.
Bhagat filed an appeal with the CAS Appeals Division against this ruling, but it was denied last month. The CAS Appeals Division upheld the CAS Anti-Doping Division's ruling from March 1, 2024, and dismissed Bhagat's appeal on July 29, 2024. His ineligibility period has now begun, the statement continued.
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His ban is in place until September 1, 2025.
"My group and I have taken the initiative to challenge this ruling, pointing out the technical problems that caused these errors. Regretfully, we haven't been able to settle this issue in time for the next games, despite our best attempts.
"As an athlete who has always competed with integrity, this has been a difficult and emotional time, but we respect the authorities' decision and will abide by it." In the men's singles SL3 event at the Tokyo Paralympics, Bhagat defeated Daniel Bethell of Great Britain to win the gold medal.
In February of last year, the 36-year-old shuttler from Bihar tied the record set by China's renowned Lin Dan by capturing a sixth World Championship title in Pattaya, Thailand.
It's quite regrettable and depressing. Indian para-badminton head coach Gaurav Khanna said PTI, "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."
Bhagat is the current global No. 3 in his category and a two-time gold medallist at the Asian Games. At the age of five, he had polio, which left him disabled in his left leg.
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- With inputs from agencies
