Indian boxer provisionally suspended by WADA, country might lose one Paris Olympics spot

The pugilist accumulated three whereabouts failures from April 2022 to May 2023 and the punishment is a ban from professional boxing for a period of one to two years.

The boxer is a World Championship and an Asian Games medallist. The International Test Agency (ITA), which is overseeing the anti-doping programme for boxing at the Olympics, red flagged the boxer for a violation that took place before the Asian Games last year.

The WADA rule states that all athletes have to disclose their whereabouts information, including but not limited to, residential address, training and competition schedules, among other activities, to enable the WADA to undertake surprise tests and also tests out of competition.

Any failure of the rule could lead to a violation, which is now the Indian boxer’s case.

The provisional suspension has come as a big shock for the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) and their lawyer, Vidushpat Singhania, is currently handling the case.

India has won four boxing quotas for the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024. Nikhat Zareen (flyweight), Preeti Sai Pawar (bantamweight), Parveen Hooda (featherweight) and Lovlina Borgohain (middleweight) have qualified for the Olympics.

Parveen, who is now provisionally suspended, pulled out of the ongoing Elorda Cup despite sending an entry. The pugilist has been a part of regular training camps both inside and outside the country.