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Discus Thrower and Asian Games and Commonwealth Games medallist Seema Antil Punia has been suspended for 16 months by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) following a doping violation.
As per the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel's official list of sanctioned athletes, the forty-two-year-old's ban will be effective from November 10, 2025. Punia's last major medal was indeed a bronze at the 2022 Asian Games, marking her third medal at the continental showpiece. Prior to this, she won a gold medal in 2014 and a bronze in 2018. Her impressive career spans multiple Commonwealth Games appearances and a recent bronze at the 2023 Asian Games. Punia has also won four Commonwealth Games medals. The seasoned discus thrower recorded a season-best throw of 58.62m, taking India's medal tally past 50. Punia's fourth attempt proved to be her best one with a 58.62m throw as she won a bronze medal in the women's discus throw event with a season's best effort. Competing in the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, Seema Punia won a bronze medal - her first significant international achievement. That performance pushed the Indian discus thrower to greater heights in the coming years as she made her Olympic debut at the 2004 Games in Athens. Though Seema Punia couldn't match her personal best and national record of 64.84m at Athens, a 60.64m attempt ensured her a 14th-place finish. NADA on Friday also announced more suspensions across athletics. Distance runner Pooja Yadav got a four-year ban, while shot-putter Manjeet Kumar Mahto was hit with a six-year suspension. Middle-distance runner Nikesh Dhanraj Rathod also received four years. (ANI)
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