BBC SPORT | PARALYMPICS | Shot putter stripped of gold

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Sunday, 29 October, 2000, 04:15 GMT

Shot putter stripped of gold

A Sydney court has backed a decision to strip an Indian shot putter of his gold medal at the Paralympics over a classification dispute, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said on Sunday.

Polio victim Yadvendra Vashishta won the F42 class on Tuesday. But the IPC ruled he should have been in the F44 class and disqualified him.

The Indian team appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport which heard the case on Saturday, an IPC spokesman told the Reuters press agency.

"The court found in favour of the IPC and the athlete was stripped of his gold medal," the spokesman said.

There is no (further) system of appeal. They (the Indian team) have just accepted it as it is
Indian team spokesman

A spokesman for the Indian team, Des Healy, told Reuters the case would not be taken further.

"There is no (further) system of appeal. They (the Indian team) have just accepted it as it is."

An IPC spokesman said on Friday there were three stages to classification: input from the coach and the athlete, an interview process involving a test of muscle functions and abilities and thirdly watching the athlete in competition.

"In competition the athlete was displaying a better capability than in the second phase," the spokesman said.

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