Wrestler Bajrang Punia Responds To 4-Year NADA Ban

Indian wrestler and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia has been handed a four-year ban by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). The sanction, announced on Tuesday, stems from his alleged refusal to submit a sample during national team selection trials on 10 March.

The controversy began with a provisional suspension issued on 23 April, which was temporarily lifted on 31 May by NADA’s Anti-Disciplinary Doping Panel (ADDP) pending further investigation. However, the panel has now ruled that Punia’s period of ineligibility will retroactively commence from the date of the initial suspension.

In response to the ban, Punia has vehemently denied the allegations and accused authorities of targeting him for his support of female wrestlers during their protests. “This is a political conspiracy because we stood by the women wrestlers,” he stated to news agency ANI. “I am ready to give a sample anytime, anywhere.”

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Punia claims he had obtained a medical certificate from a government-appointed doctor at the trials and insists he was present at the venue. “I have all the evidence, including time-stamped proofs, to show I did not leave the venue,” he told ANI. He also questioned the validity of NADA’s actions, highlighting concerns over the use of expired doping kits.

“It is unprecedented for samples to be taken between bouts during a tournament,” Punia argued. He further alleged government involvement in the matter, calling the process biased and politically motivated. Punia, who was at the forefront against the protests against then BJP MP and wrestlers’ body chief Brij Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on the allegation of sexual harassment, had joined Congress ahead of Haryana Assembly elections and was appointed as an office bearer of party’s farmers body.

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