The Wrestling Federation of India was irked by wrestler Bajrang Punia’s suspension by NADA. WFI accused the anti-doping agency of keeping them in the dark regarding the wrestler’s suspension.
What happened
The National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) issued Bajrang a provisional suspension on April 23 and requested that he respond by May 7 in order to avert additional disciplinary action.
On March 10, in Sonepat, the trials were held to select the men’s national team for the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Bishkek. Following his defeat in the bout, Bajrang left the venue without providing an urine sample.
NADA gave us no inkling: Sanjay Singh
WFI President Sanjay Singh said he was shocked that NADA had not notified them of the suspension.
“It’s really surprising that NADA did not keep us in loop while suspending Bajrang. I had a meeting with NADA DG and other officials on April 25 and this matter was not raised in that meeting,” Sanjay told PTI.
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“They keep communicating with us on matters such as whereabout clause requirements, long list (for Paris Olympics) and so on. Even we had a discussion about the recent Federation Cup, where they sent officials to collect samples from the winners. But they did not let us know about this suspension of Bajrang Punia,” he said.
WADA intervention on cards?
Sanjay further said that they are planning to inform WADA about the matter.
“I called NADA officials this morning and they had no answer to my query. Now, I plan to write to NADA and also inform WADA about this,” he said.
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