The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has announced that badminton player Pramod Bhagat, who won gold medal for India in Tokyo Paralympics, has been suspended for 18 months for violating doping rules. He will no longer be able to participate in the Paris Paralympic Games. The Paralympics in Paris will run from 28 August to 8 September.
Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champion Pramod Bhagat has been suspended for 18 months and will not be able to participate in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, the BWF said in a statement. Pramod Bhagat has been prosecuted by the Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CSA) for his conviction.
The BWF said that the Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sports had asked Pramod Bhagat to provide information about his whereabouts three times within 12 months but he failed to do so. Then on March 1, 2024, CSA found him guilty and imposed an 18-month ban. Pramod appealed against the decision but on July 29, the CSA Appellate Division rejected it.
How has Pramod's performance been
Pramod Bhagat has won the gold medal in Tokyo Paralympics 2020. He was in great form this year too. Earlier in the year, Pramod won the men's singles title by defeating England's Daniel Bathel at the Parbadminton World Championships in Pattaya, Thailand. Bhagat defeated Bathel 14-21, 21-15, 21-15 in the match that lasted 1 hour 40 minutes. Earlier, he had won this title in the years 2015, 2019 and 2022.