October 06, (THEWILL) – Nigerian para powerlifter, Ikechukwu Christian Obichukwu, has been upgraded to the gold medal in the men’s heavyweight event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games after the original winner failed a drug test.
Indian lifter, Sudhir, who took gold in Birmingham, has been stripped of the title after testing positive for a banned substance from a sample collected on 21 July. The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) said an independent tribunal found Sudhir committed an anti-doping violation, disqualifying his results.
The CGF maintains a zero-tolerance policy on doping and seeks to protect the integrity of the Games through education, prevention and testing. Sudhir’s case has been passed to the International Paralympic Committee.
With Sudhir’s disqualification, Obichukwu now moves up from silver to take the gold medal. Scotland’s Micky Yule claimed the silver, while Australian Ben Wright picked up the bronze medal.
The IPC said it could not comment further on the case at this stage as proceedings are still ongoing. The CGF informed the relevant Commonwealth Games Associations, who are liaising with the impacted athletes.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
