A case that shakes the adapted sport. The Judoca Shahana Hajiyevarepresentative of Azerbaijan and gold winner in the Paralympic Tokyo 2020 Gamesit was disqualified in a way permanente after a medical review that revealed that does not present visual disabilitiesindispensable condition to participate in its category.
The sanction was imposed by the International Medical Commission after an evaluation carried out within the framework of the Judo Worldwhere Hajiyeva was outlined as one of the main candidates for the title.
Hajiyeva was considered for years as one of the great figures of Paralympic Judo and also participated in the Paris Games 2024. However, the recent modification in the classification system – which replaced categories B1, B2 and B3 by the J1 and J2– forced to perform New medical evaluationsstricter and with updated criteria.
It was in that context that it was found that Hajiyeva’s visual capacity It is optimal and does not fit the standards required to compete as a athlete with visual disabilities.
A case that reminds other background
The case reminds the historic scandal of the Spanish Paralympic basketball team in Sydney 2000where it was found that only two of the twelve players had intellectual disabilities. Since then, controls and rigor in classification processes have intensified.
Yes ok There is no conclusive evidence that Hajiyeva has pretended its conditionthe decision was already formalized and represents a Important precedent for Paralympic sport in terms of ethics and transparency.
