Indian boxer provisionally suspended by WADA, country could lose a place at the Paris Olympics

India could lose a place at the 2024 Paris Olympics in boxing after one of the boxers, identified in many news reports as Parveen Hooda, was provisionally suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for a reporting violation became.

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

The boxer is a world champion and a medalist at the Asian Games. The International Test Agency (ITA), which oversees the anti-doping program for boxing at the Olympics, red-flagged the boxer for a violation ahead of last year’s Asian Games.

The WADA rule states that all athletes must disclose their whereabouts information, including but not limited to home address, training and competition schedules and other activities, to enable WADA to conduct surprise testing and also out-of-competition testing.

Any violation of the rule could result in an infringement, which is now the case of the Indian boxer.

The interim suspension came as a big shock to the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) and its lawyer Vidushpat Singhania is currently handling the case.

India has won four boxing quotas for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. 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Parveen, who is now provisionally suspended, has withdrawn from the ongoing Elorda Cup despite registering. The pugilist took part in regular training camps at home and abroad.