In a bizarre turn of event, a para athlete who won a gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics in the visually impaired category has been banned after a medical test revealed she had no vision impairment after all.

Shahana Hajiyeva, a judoka from Azerbaijan and a multiple -time gold medallist, competed in the visually impaired women's 48kg judo category at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics, where she won the gold medal. However, four years later, she has been banned for faking her vision impairment.

Hajiyeva, 24, failed a medical qualification test for the World Para Judo Championships earlier this month, which barred her from competing at the event held in Budapest, Hungary. The test showed that she has full eyesight, meaning the 24-year-old will now serve a lifetime ban from para sports.

However, Azerbaijan’s National Paralympic Committee (NPC) said a change in regulation has resulted in her disqualification from the Championships and eventual ban. The extent of the ban remains unknown, but she is likely to face a lifetime suspension.

“At the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Parajudo competitions were held in categories B1, B2 and B3. However, in the run-up to the Paralympic Games in Paris and at the Games themselves, the number of categories was reduced, and competitions were organised in two new categories – J1 and J2. As a result of the changes, many eye diseases previously included in the J2 category were excluded from the list,” said the NPC in a statement.

“Despite the fact that Gadzhieva represented our country in the J2 category until 2024, due to the changes it became clear that she will no longer be able to compete in parajudo,” the NPC added.

At the Tokyo Paralympics, Sandrine Martinet of France won the silver medal after losing the final against Hajiyeva. Viktoriya Potapova of Russia and Yuliya Halinska of Ukraine tied for bronze.

In the wake of the latest medical report, it remains to be seen whether the International Paralympic Committee will take the gold medal away from Hajiyeva and readjust the podium finishes.

Hajiyeva also previously won gold at the European Para and Cadet Championships.

Besides Hajiyeva, another Azerbaijani athlete named Elnara Nizamli, who earlier passed the medical classification as a completely blind athlete (J1), has also failed the medical test. She is now facing a lifetime ban.

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