In an unfortunate move, India’s gold medal winning para-badminton star, Pramod Bhagat on Tuesday, August 13 was handed 18-month suspension by the Badminton World Federation. The Indian shuttler was found guilty of breaching the anti-doping whereabouts clause, leading to his suspension. However, the 36-year-old will miss the upcoming Paralympic Games as a result of the suspension.
The heartbroken Indian shuttler, Pramod Bhagat took to social media to share an update, citing one of the failures as “technical glitch”. He also revealed that his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) was dismissed and is ready to face the repercussions. “I am deeply saddened by the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to suspend me from participating in the Paris 2024 Paralympics Games. I want to clarify that the suspension is due to three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period, especially the last one being a result of a technical glitch rather than any intentional wrongdoing,” Bhagat wrote in a post on X.
Justice will prevail: Pramod Bhagat after handing 18-month suspension
He further went on to clarify that he and his team have been proactive to appeal this decision but haven’t been able to resolve the matter ahead of the 2024 Paralympic Games. “My team and I have been proactive in appealing this decision, citing the technical issues that led to these failures. Unfortunately, despite our efforts, we have not been able to resolve this matter before the upcoming games. We respect WADA, CAS and will abide by it, but this has been a challenging and emotional time for me as an athlete who has always competed with integrity,” he added.
The 36-year-old Indian shuttler however extended his support while adding that “justice will prevail”. “I want to thank my fans, family, and the Badminton community for their unwavering support. Your belief in me is a source of strength, and I am hopeful that justice will prevail,” he concluded.
It is to be noted that Bhagat clinched historic gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. The Indian shuttler defeated Daniel Bethell of Great Britain in the final of men’s singles SL3 category 14-21, 21-15, 21-15 in a contest which lasted for one hour and 40 minutes. With this, he won his fourth singles world title, previously winning it in 2015, 2019 and 2022.