NADA suspended Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia for 4 years, know the reason why!

The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, suspended Bajrang Punia for four years for refusing to provide his sample for dope testing during the selection trials for the national team on March 10. This information has been given by news agency PTI in its report.

NADA had first suspended the Tokyo Olympic Games bronze medalist wrestler for this offense on April 23. After this, the world governing body UWW also suspended him. Bajrang Punia had appealed against the provisional suspension. It was canceled by NADA’s Disciplinary Doping Panel (ADDP) on May 31 until NADA issued a notice of charges.

NADA then gave notice to the wrestler on June 23. Bajrang Punia challenged the allegation in a written submission on 11 July. After this, hearings were held on 20 September and 4 October. “The panel finds that the athlete is liable to sanctions under Article 10.3.1 and is liable to ineligibility for a period of 4 years,” the ADDP said in its order after the completion of the hearing.

The suspension will come into effect from 23 April 2024

According to the Panel, in the present case, since the athlete was provisionally suspended, the Panel accordingly holds that the period of ineligibility of the athlete for a period of 4 years will commence from the date of sending the notification, i.e. from 23.04.2024 .However, the period between May 31, 2024, and June 21, 2024, when the provisional suspension was lifted, will not be counted toward the total four-year ineligibility period.