Wrestler Bajrang Punia, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist, has said he never refused to give his sample and will contest on Tuesday his provisional suspension by the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) for not providing his urine sample following the selection trials in Sonepat on March 10.NADA served a notice to the wrestler on April 23 and gave Bajrang Punia until May 7 to give his reply(REUTERS)NADA served a notice to the wrestler on April 23 and gave Punia until May 7 to give his reply.
Punia lost in the trials to select the Indian squad for the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Sonepat and left the venue without giving his sample and didn’t return for the third-fourth place playoff.Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now!The 30-year-old had put out a video some time ago alleging that NADA had come to collect his sample last December using a collection kit that was past its expiry date. On Sunday, after his provisional suspension was reported in the media, he contended on social media that he had not refused to give his sample in March but only wanted the NADA officials to first explain why they used a collection kit that was past its expiry date.On the day a media report said that Olympic bronze medallist Bajrang Punia was provisionally suspended from participation in any competition for refusing to give a sample, the wrestler took to social media to give his defence.In a post on X, Punia said that when the dope control officer came to collect his sample in March, he asked them to first provide an explanation over the use of expired kits for his out-of-competition test in December.
Bajrang said he was ready to give his sample after they replied to his earlier complaint.Bajrang’s post on social media came after it was reported that the NADA had provisionally suspended him for not agreeing to submit a urine sample during the trials at the Sports Authority of India centre in Sonipat on March 10. The Tribune reported that Bajrang was “immediately provisionally suspended from participation in any competition or activity prior to the final decision reached at a hearing in this matter,” according to the notice issued to the wrestler.Though Bajrang lost the 65kg trials and Sujeet Kalal will represent India at the World Qualifiers for the Paris Olympics to be held from May 9, the provisional suspension could jeopardise the Tokyo Olympics bronze medal winner’s prospects of another shot at the Summer Games.
The winner of the Olympic quota will have to beat the winner of another national trials to book a Paris berth, a Wrestling Federation of India official confirmed.This is a very important video for all of us to watch and ponder over. How can one trust the system if the process is not followed. How can one be sure that there is no manipulation in the entire process,’ Bajrang was heard saying in the video.Bajrang’s lawyer Vidushpat Singhania said: “We need to access the case file. We will be filing a reply to the NADA notice soon.”Bajrang will have to appear before a disciplinary panel when the hearing begins, a process that could take weeks if not months to complete
.According to the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) Code, ‘Refusing, or failing without compelling justification, to submit to sample collection after notification as authorized in applicable anti-doping rules or otherwise evading sample collection is an anti-doping rule violation.’At the trials in Sonipat, Bajrang had lost to Rohit 9-3 in the semifinal. Post the loss, he left the venue immediately and didn’t return for the third-fourth placings bout