Parveen Hooda, a bronze medallist at the World Championships and an Olympic quota holder in women’s 57kg boxing, has been suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for 1.5 years due to three whereabouts failures in a 12-month period. This suspension, starting this month, will last until November 2025. The violations occurred from April 2022 to March 2023, during which she failed to comply with WADA’s whereabouts requirements.
Parveen’s coach, Sudhir Hooda, confirmed the suspension to PTI, stating that they are working to contest or reduce the sanction through correspondence with the International Testing Agency (ITA) and WADA ombudsman. They are aiming for either a withdrawal of the notice or a reduced sanction to allow her to retain her Olympic quota.
Under WADA rules, athletes in the Registered Testing Pool (RTP) must provide detailed information about their whereabouts and be available for testing during specified times. Failure to comply with these requirements constitutes an anti-doping rule violation.
Lawyer Vidushpat Singhania, representing Parveen, mentioned ongoing efforts to resolve the issue quickly due to the impending Olympic Games in Paris. However, even with a reduced sanction, Parveen will likely miss the Paris Olympics scheduled for July-August 2024.
The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) remains optimistic about a favorable outcome despite the challenges presented by the suspension.
