In what could come as a rude shock to the Indian boxing team, a World Championships bronze medalist, pugilist Parveen Hooda is most likely lose her Paris 2024 Olympic quota, after being suspended by the WADA for three whereabouts failures in 12 months.
The youngster had bagged the quota in the women’s 57kg category at the Asian Games 2023. Parveen failed to give updates on her whereabouts from April 2022 to March 2023. “She has been suspended by WADA for 1.5 years. The suspension starts this month. It will go on till November 2025,” Parveen’s coach Sudhir Hooda told PTI.
What Can Parveen Hooda Do Now?
Lawyer Vidushpat Singhania, who is in-charge of Parveen’s case, said that they are in touch with the International Testing Agency (ITA), so that the ban is reduced. “We have been in correspondence with multiple parties including the ITA and WADA ombudsman. We are trying our best for a no sanction or reduced one,” Singhania said.
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“We are trying for them to withdraw the notice for whereabouts failure; if that happens, there will be no sanction. We are looking to finalise it immediately because of the Olympic quota place,” he added.
No matter what the situation is, Parveen will be out of Paris 2024 in July-August.
India’s Chances at Paris 2024 Further Hit
Parveen’s debacle now means that India will have one less contender for a medal at Paris 2024. Till now only four Indian pugilists have qualified for the Olympics — Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preeti (54kg), Parveen (57kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg). No Indian male boxer has made the cut till now, and their last chance will be from May 24 in Bangkok.
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