Indian Boxer Parveen Hooda Loses Asian Games Medal for Whereabouts Failure

India's medal count at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games is set to drop by one after boxer Parveen Hooda was suspended for 22 months for whereabouts failure. Hooda, who won a bronze medal in the women's 57kg weight class, has been stripped of her medal and her results from December 11, 2022, to May 17, 2024, have been disqualified.

The suspension stems from Hooda's failure to file her whereabouts three times within a twelve-month period, a violation of the International Boxing Association's anti-doping rules. The International Testing Agency (ITA), which is responsible for results management, handed down the suspension earlier this month.

The suspension is a major blow to Hooda, who had earned an Olympic quota for the 2024 Paris Games with her bronze medal performance at the Asian Games. The quota has now been surrendered, and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Jaismine Lamboria will fight for the 57kg quota in the final Olympic qualifier, starting in Bangkok on Friday.

The suspension is also an embarrassment for Indian boxing, which has been plagued by a series of controversies in recent years. In 2021, the International Boxing Association (IBA) suspended the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) for alleged mismanagement and corruption. The suspension was lifted in September 2022, but the BFI remains under scrutiny.

Despite the suspension, India's overall medal count at the 2023 Asian Games will remain at 106, which is good enough for fourth place in the overall medal rankings.

Tags: #ParveenHooda, #AsianGames, #Boxing, #WhereaboutsFailure, #ITA