(New Delhi) Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia, one of the leaders of the protests against the head of the national federation accused of sexual harassment, has been suspended for four years for refusing a doping test, the national anti-doping agency (NADA) announced on Tuesday ).
Posted at 7:05 a.m.
Anup OJHA Agence France-Presse
Bronze medalist at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Punia (30) was provisionally suspended last May for refusing to provide a urine sample during a recent selection event.
He had disputed the accusations and the suspension was initially lifted, but NADA confirmed the suspension in a statement on Tuesday.
The wrestler claims not to have refused to submit to the control, but to have been suspicious of the kit brought to take his sample, because it seemed expired.
Last year, he attended a rally in New Delhi alongside female wrestlers who accused Brij Bhushan Singh, then head of the wrestling federation and an MP from the ruling Hindu nationalist party, of sexual harassment.
The manager denied having engaged in touching and demanding sexual favors from female wrestlers.
Punia has since joined the opposition Congress party.
According to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), India recorded the highest number of doping-related frauds in the world in 2022.
India is the only country to have recorded more than 100 positive results, with even countries with larger numbers of athletes, such as China, the United States and Russia, producing fewer adverse test results.
