Following boxer Parveen Hooda’s 22-month suspension for a whereabouts failure, India is set to lose a bronze medal in the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The International Testing Agency (ITA), the organisation responsible for results management, has confirmed Parveen’s suspension until July 16, 2025 for three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period as defined in article 2.4 of the International Boxing Association’s anti-doping rules.
“In addition to the period of ineligibility, the athlete’s results obtained between December 11, 2022 until May 17, 2024 are disqualified,” said ITA in a statement.
While confirming that Parveen would lose her Asian Games medal, Boxing Federation of India (BFI) secretary Hemanta Kalita said: “The ITA reduced her suspension by eight months, but cancelled her results during that period as well.”
The 2022 Asian Games was postponed due to Covid-19 and was held a year later, from September 23 to October 8, 2023.
Parveen, a 2022 Worlds bronze medallist in 63kg, landed a bronze medal in 57kg in Hangzhou and secured a quota place for the Paris Olympics. Now, she will lose her medal and the quota place and will not be eligible to participate in the Paris Olympics.
In effect, India’s medal collection in the Asian Games will come down from 107 to 106 without affecting the country’s fourth place finish.
The BFI has decided to field Jaismine Lamboria, a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist in 60kg, in the women’s 57kg in the last Olympic qualifier, starting in Bangkok from Friday, in its bid to reclaim the quota place. Jaismine will leave for Bangkok on Tuesday.
