India’s Bhagat, the defending champion in badminton at Paralympics has been banned for 18 months due to violation of rule of “Whereabouts Clause” as reported by Parami News. Consequently, his suspension comes into effect immediately and this will make him miss next games in Paris Paralympic that will deal a big blow on India’s medal prospects.
The Whereabouts clause is an important element in the anti-doping regulations. It requires athletes to provide information regarding their location during out-of-competition testing. A failure to observe this condition may lead to suspension as demonstrated by Bhagat’s case.
Pramod Bhagat has been instrumental in para sports in India particularly para badminton. He was a model athlete whose achievements inspired many others at national and other levels of the game across the country. His career was filled with various milestones which included one gold medal won in men’s singles, SL3 category at Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Thus, it shows that Indian power remains undeniable within the sphere of para-badminton.
Moreover, apart from his success during the Olympic Games, Bhagat also won several gold medals at the World Championship and Asian Para Games for Paralympic Games. In fact, his inputs have played pivotal role towards India’s recognition among global players of parabadminton.
