Paralympic athlete handed lifetime ban from sport after failing disability test

A Paralympic athlete has been given a life ban from their sport after failing a medical classification test, it has been reported.

Shahana Hajiyeva, of Azerbaijan, won a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics in the women's 48kg judo event.

She also won a gold medal in the 48kg J2 category at the 2023 European Para Championships, though did not compete in either category at last summer's Paralympics in Paris.

Prosport.az have reported that Hajiyeva failed a medical classification test for partially sighted judokas ahead of the World Parajudo Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.

The 25-year-old was due to compete in the J2 52kg category, but the tests reportedly found that she did not have vision restrictions.

As a result, she was given a lifelong ban from parajudo competition.

Another athlete, Elnara Nizamli, was due to compete in the completely blind J1 category, but tests showed that she in fact had partial vision and she was moved to the J2 category.

Azerbaijan's National Paralympic Committee provided a statement to azersport.com on Hajiyeva's situation, explaining: "The categories B1, B2 and B3, in which parajudo competitions were held at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games, were reduced in the period leading up to and at the Paris 2024 Games and combined into two categories - J1 and J2.

"As a result of these changes, many ophthalmogical diagnoses were excluded from the list of acceptable diseases for the J2 category.

"For this reason, the International Blind Sports Association (IBSA) re-submitted our parajudokas for medical classification.

"Despite the fact that the winner of Tokyo 2020, Shakhana Gadzhieva [Hajiyeva], represented our country in parajudo in the J2 category until 2024, due to these changes, it became clear that she will no longer be able to compete in parajudo.

"The National Paralympic Committee is taking all the necessary steps to adapt to the new requirements of medical classification."

SPORTbible have contacted the International Paralympic Committee and the Azerbaijan Judo Federation for comment.