ESPN staffMay 4, 2024, 10:34 PM ET
Welcome to ESPN India's daily blog, where we aim to bring you all the news from the dynamic world of Indian sports: from the wide variety of Olympic sports to franchise leagues.
May has plenty of sporting action taking place - which you can find listed out in ESPN India's sporting calendar.
Bajrang refutes not giving sample to NADA
Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia has been provisionally suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) after he reportedly denied a urine sample to the national anti-doping agency during the selection trials in Sonepat on March 10, reports PTI. This could severely hamper the Olympic bronze medallist's chances of qualifying for the Paris Olympics.
Bajrang was handed a provisional suspension on April 23 by NADA and has to reply by May 7 to avoid further disciplinary action.
In response, Bajrang put up a video on social media and said he "did not refuse to submit a urine sample". He claimed he sought answers from the officials for an earlier incident, when they had brought an expired kit to conduct a dope test on him. More in the video below:
मेरे बारे में जो डोप टेस्ट के लिए ख़बर आ रही है उसके लिये मैं स्पष्ट करना चाहता हूँ !!! मैंने कभी भी नाडा अधिकारियों को sample देने से इनकार नहीं किया, मैंने उनसे अनुरोध किया कि वे मुझे जवाब दें कि उन्होंने पहले मेरा sample लेने के लिए जो एक्सपायरी किट लाई थी, उस पर उन्होंने क्या... pic.twitter.com/aU676ADyy3
- Bajrang Punia ���� (@BajrangPunia) May 5, 2024
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Meanwhile WFI president Sanjay Singh said NADA had not informed the Federation about 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," he told PTI.
"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. 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 added.
Bhupender Singh Bajwa, who was the head of the dissolved ad-hoc panel, told PTI they also have no communication regarding Bajrang's suspension. "I have got the mail checked. We have no such communication. We got a mail on April 18 about a warning to Bajrang but the April 23 communication is not with us. I don't know to which email ID they sent it," Bajwa said.
India's 4x400m relay teams miss out on R1 of Olympic qualifiers
The Indian relay teams failed to secure Paris Olympics quotas at the World Athletics Relays today as the women's and mixed teams could not secure the top two spots [which assure automatic qualification], while the men's team did not finish their race as Rajesh Ramesh pulled up injured.
The top two teams in each of the four heat races here qualify for the Paris Olympics, while the remaining teams in all the heats will compete again on Monday in another qualification round for another six Paris Olympics spots. All hope is not lost for the Indian relay teams as they will come back tomorrow for the second round of qualifiers and resume their quest of qualifying for the Paris Games.
The Indian quartet of Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Rajesh Ramesh, Muhammed Ajmal and Amoj Jacob was primed to qualify for the Olympics, but Ramesh's injury has put them in a spot of bother. Ramesh was the second runner and Anas had given India a blistering start. It's interesting to note that Ramesh had run the mixed 4x400m race three hours before the men's event.
India also could not make the Paris Olympics cut in women's 4x400m and mixed 4x400m. In the mixed 4x400m event, the Indian quartet of Ramesh, Rupal Chaudhary, Avinash Krishna Kumar and Jyothika Sri Dandi finished sixth their heat, while the women's team of Vithya Ramraj, M R Poovamma, Jyothika Sri Dandi and Subha Venkatesan finished fifth in their heat.
ICYMI: Mumbai City trump Mohun Bagan to ISL title
Mumbai City pulled off a remarkable comeback to beat Mohun Bagan in their backyard and win the Indian Super League [ISL] title yesterday. It was a win that was a summation of Mumbai City's season: they stared adversity in the face and walked out champions. After all, it's what they'd been doing all season.
Our reporter Aaditya was at the Salt Lake Stadium to witness the magic - Mumbai City befriend adversity to silence Mohun Bagan's Salt Lake and win the ISL
What's on today?
ISL: We'll be reviewing the ISL season and write about the Team of the season as well as the Player of the season.
IPL: Punjab Kings host Chennai Super Kings at 3:30pm, while Lucknow Super Giants take on Kolkata Knight Riders at 7:30pm.
What happened yesterday?
ISL: Mumbai City produced a stunning comeback to beat Mohun Bagan Super Giant and win the ISL title.
Football: Igor Stimac named the first list of probables for Bhubaneswar camp.
IPL: Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Gujarat Titans by four wickets.
You can read the details of yesterday's events, here.
