NEW DELHI, May 21
Boxer Parveen Hooda’s suspension will lead to India losing out on the bronze medal she won at the Asian Games in China, last year.
Parveen, who had secured a Paris 2024 Olympics boxing quota after winning the bronze medal in 57kg weight class in Hangzhou, was handed a 22-month suspension by the International Testing Agency (ITA) for a whereabouts failure.
“The ITA confirms that boxer Parveen Hooda has been suspended for a 22-month period, effective until 16 July 2025, after committing three whereabouts failures within a twelve-month period,” said a statement released by the ITA. “In addition to the period of ineligibility, the athlete’s results obtained between December 11, 2022, until May 17, 2024, are disqualified,” it added.
Parveen Hooda confirmed her bronze medal after making it to the semi-finals, a bout she lost to Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-ting, on October 4, 2023. Since the result falls within the stipulated time period dictated by the ITA, the Indian boxer will lose her bronze medal.
The development also means that India’s overall medal tally at the Asian Games 2023 will come down from 107 to 106 . However, it will not affect the country’s fourth-place finish on the overall medals tally.
“The ITA reduced her suspension by eight months, but cancelled her results during that period as well,” Boxing Federation of India (BFI) secretary Hemanta Kalita informed.
Due to the suspension, India also had to concede the Paris 2024 quota which Parveen secured from the Asian Games.
However, India will have the opportunity to regain the quota at the second World Olympic Qualifiers, which starts on May 24 in Thailand. Jaismine Lamboria, who won the bronze medal in the women’s 60kg category at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, will drop down to the 57kg division for the qualifying tournament.
