Paralympic gold medallist Shahana Hajiyeva has been handed a lifetime ban from her category following a failed disability classification test. The Azerbaijani athlete, who clinched gold at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, has reportedly been barred from competing in her previous categories.

The 25-year-old judoka triumphed in the 48kg event in Japan and also secured gold in the 48kg J2 category at the 2023 European Para Championships. Despite not participating in the 2024 Paris Games, she was scheduled to compete in Astana, Kazakhstan for the World Parajudo Championships. However, as per Prosport.az, she was found to have failed a medical classification test for partially sighted judokas ahead of the Kazakhstan competition. The test concluded that she did not possess any vision restrictions that would hinder her participation in Parajudo competitions for the visually impaired, leading to a permanent ban from her original category.

A similar situation unfolded in the blind J1 category when tests revealed that Elnara Nizamli had partial vision, resulting in her being moved down to the J2 category. In a statement issued to Azerisport.com, the National Paralympic Committee of Azerbaijan attributed the predicament to the new classification systems.

They explained: "The categories B1, B2 and B3, in which parajudo competitions were held at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games, were reduced in the period leading up to and at the Paris 2024 Games and combined into two categories - J1 and J2.