Bhubaneswar: The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has suspended India’s Tokyo 2020 Paralympic gold medal winner Pramod Bhagat for 18 months for breaching the anti-doping regulations.
Pramod, who hails from Odisha’s Attabira in Bargarh district, will now miss the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
“On 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,” a BWF statement read.
“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,” the statement added.
Bhagat won a gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics in the men’s singles SL3 category, beating Daniel Bethell of Great Britain in the final.
The 35-year-old Bhagat came from behind in the Tokyo Paralympics final to beat his arch-rival 14-21, 21-15, 21-15 in a gruelling contest which lasted for about an hour and 40 minutes.
In the process, Bhagat won his fourth singles world title, having previously won the same medal thrice in 2015, 2019, and 2022. He also has a men’s doubles gold medal to his name at the global championships from the 2013 campaign. But, he won’t be able to defend his titles this time around.
