CHENNAI: The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has banned Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Bajrang Punia for four years after the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel found him guilty of violating its Rule 2.3 ("Evading, Refusing or Failing to Submit to Sample Collection...").
The Panel after much deliberation and extended hearing has come to this decision.
According to the ADDP judgement, "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."
The ban on Bajrang, who was leading a protest against the former beleaguered Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, will begin from the date of notification, 23.04.2024, sent to the athlete.
The case was interesting as the Tokyo Games bronze medallist had argued through his lawyer Vidushpat Singhania that he was provisionally suspended arbitrarily. In fact an urgent hearing was requested and after hearings on 13.05.2024 and 17.05.2024, the provisional suspension was revoked because a formal notice of charge was not issued. The NADA finally issued a notice of charge a month later on 21.06.2024 imposing provisional suspension once again.
Bajrang also argued that the notice of charge issued against the athlete is "erroneous and fundamentally flawed in law". However, the ADDP ruled that the "athlete's actions reflect a blatant disregard for established laws, rules, and regulations, driven by an inflated sense of ego, which contravenes the principles of fair play and sportsmanship. Such conduct, particularly from a prominent figure, undermines the integrity of the sports." The ADDP comprised Vineet Dhanda (chairman), Bikas Medhi (medical member), KM Beenamol (sports member).
The ADDP ruling finally said: "In view of the facts and circumstances stated above, the Panel holds that the Athlete is liable for sanctions under Article 10.3.1 and liable for ineligibility for a period of 4 years.
In the present case, since the Athlete had been provisionally suspended, the Panel accordingly holds that the Athlete’s period of his ineligibility for the period of 4 years shall commence from the date on which the notification was sent, i.e., 23.04.2024. Needless to say that on account of the lifting of the provisional suspension for the period from 31.05.2024 to 21.06.2024 shall not be credited into the total period of ineligibility of four years."
Bajrang, who has joined Congress ahead of Haryana election, was served a notice of charge for violation of Article 2.3 of the ADR in the past. The notice pertains to 'evading, refusing or failing to submit to sample collection. The allegation against the athlete pertains to the evasion or refusal to submit to sample collection for the in-competition dope test on 10.03.2024 at the ‘selection trials’, organized by the ad-hoc committee of the WFI. The trials took place at the National Center of Excellence (NCOE), Sports Authority of India (SAI), Sonepat, Haryana.
The multiple World Championships medallist in his plea contended that he refrained from providing sample to the NADA official as he hasn't received any response from the agency to his email concerning the utilisation of expired testing kits in the past.
The hearings were held by the panel on September 30 and October 10 this year. Bajrang now can approach the Anti-Doping Appeals Panel to challenge the judgement.
Bajrang along with Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik staged the protest against Brij Bhushan accusing him of sexual misconduct. Vinesh since then has joined Congress and even won the Haryana Assembly election. Sakshi, the Rio Olympic bronze medallist, had announced her retirement from wrestling.
