NADA suspends Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia over anti-doping rule violation
NADA suspends Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia over anti-doping rule violation
Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist wrestler Bajrang Punia has been re-suspended by India's National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) over rule violation, media reports said on Sunday (June 23).
Although NADA had provisionally suspended the star grappler earlier in May, a disciplinary panel’s intervention revoked that call because he was not issued a notice of charge. Now, the reports claim that NADA has issued a formal notice of charge, suspending Punia weeks ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Per NADA, Bajrang failed to cooperate with the officials while submitting a urine sample during the trials at Sonipat on March 10, and despite being informed of repercussions, Punia left the arena, leading to the concerned officials taking action against him.
Per the Dope Collecting Officer's (DCO) report, Punia violated the anti-doping rule despite regular warnings.
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However, soon after this statement made headlines, Punia released a video on his X handle, giving his version ofwhat happened. In a now-deletedvideo, Punia alleged that the DCO tried using the expired kits for urine collection, to which he refused to provide his sample.
Punia further stated that he raised his concerns with NADA, who is yet to revert on this, let alone launch a probe into the matter.
Reports further suggest that the new notice of charge was issued on the past Thursday (June 20), with authorities giving him time till July 11 to respond to the suspension.
"Yes, we have received the notice and will certainly respond to it. Last time also, we had attended the hearing and this time also we will file our reply. He hasn't done anything wrong, so will fight," Bajrang Punia’s lawyer said in a chat with India Today.
