Para shuttler wins gold medal in Tokyo. Pramod Bhagat has been suspended for 18 months owing to a whereabouts failing and will miss the Paris Paralympic Games.
The gold medallist for the Paralympic Games in Tokyo 2020, Pramod Bhagat, of India, has been suspended for eighteen months for violating anti-doping rules, according to the Badminton World Federation (BWF). Pramod will not compete in the Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024 because of the suspension.
“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,” the announcement stated.
The CAS Appeals Division received an appeal from SL3 athlete Bhagat regarding this ruling. According to the announcement, Bhagat’s appeal was dismissed by the CAS Appeals Division on July 29, 2024, and the ruling of the CAS Anti-Doping Division from March 1, 2024 was upheld.
In the Tokyo Paralympics final, the 35-year-old Bhagat overcame a steep handicap to defeat his bitter opponent 14-21, 21-15, 21-15 in an exhausting match that lasted for over an hour and forty minutes.
In the process, Bhagat—who had previously won the same medal three times in 2015, 2019 and 2022—won his fourth world championship in singles. In addition, he won a gold medal in men’s doubles during the 2013 world championships. However, he will be unable to maintain his titles this time.
