The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has suspended Tokyo Paralympics gold medallist for 18 months for violating anti-doping regulations. Owing to the suspension, Bhagat will not be able to participate in the Paris Paralympics.
In a statement, BWF said, “The Badminton World Federation can confirm India’s Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champion Pramod Bhagat has been suspended for a period of 18 months and will miss the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.” The federation added, “On March 1, 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.”
BWF said the SL3 athlete appealed against the suspension with the CAS Appeals Division. However, on July 29, the division dismissed the Bhagat’s appeal, the statement said.
The paralympics will take place from August 28 to September 8 in Paris. 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.
