Azerbaijani judoka Shahana Hajiyeva, won the Gold Medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. She became the champion in the J2 category, which is for the visually impaired. However, she was apparently fully sighted at the time.
Sputnik Azerbaijan Radio reported on May 13 that the judoka has been found to be fully sighted, and she has now been served a lifetime ban.
Hajiyeva did not pass the mandatory medical examination for judoka with partial visual impairment in the J2 category (up to 52 kg). During the examination, it turned out that the athlete does not have any visual limitations.
The Azerbaijan Paralympic committee, trying to defend the judoka who fought blind opponents, said that earlier at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Para Judo competitions were held in categories B1, B2 and B3. However, ahead of the Paris Paralympics in 2024, the rules were changed and those categories were merged into J1 and J2. As a result of the reform, a number of diagnoses were excluded from the acceptable ones for participation in J2, and some athletes who had previously been in this category lost the right to perform.
However, Hajiyeva is the only one served a lifetime ban, so Azerbaijan’s ‘explanation’ doesn’t hold much water.
