BAJRANG BLAMES OFFICIALS FOR NO TO DOPE SAMPLE

New Delhi, May 10: Olympic medallist wrestler Bajrang Punia has claimed that he refused to provide urine samples during the selection trials in Sonepat in March because the dope control officials failed to furnish adequate proof that they were carrying proper equipment to conduct the tests.

Bajrang, one of the country’s most successful wrestlers, was suspended by National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) on April 23 after being served a whereabouts failure notice on April 18.

On Thursday, wrestling’s world governing body UWW also suspended him till the end of this year following NADA’s decision to hand him a provisional suspension for refusing to undergo a dope test on March 10 in Sonepat.

“This is to clarify that, I have at no stage refused to give my sample for doping control. On 10 March 2024, when I was approached by alleged doping control officials, I merely reminded them that the last two times they came to collect my sample, they had gotten expired kits once,” wrote Bajrang on ‘X’ on Friday.

“...and on the other instance, they had approached me with a single testing kit as opposed to the three testing kits,” added Bajrang, who competes in the 65 kg category and one who has been at the forefront of a protracted agitation against former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. —