Paralympian Palak Kohli accuses a fellow para shuttler of faking disability and files a petition against her

A case against para shuttler Vaishnavi Puneyani has been filed by fellow para shuttlers Palak Kohli and Jyoti Verma for faking her disability. The duo wrote a petition to the Delhi High Court on Friday alleging that Vaishnavi has forged her medical reports to be able to participate in the Asian Para Games.

Palak Kohli, who is a Paralympian alongside Jyoti Verma, also mentioned that they had raised multiple complaints regarding the forgery of medical reports, despite which Vaishnavi Puneyani was selected for the team heading to the Asian Para Games. As quoted by The Bridge, Palak Kohli stated:

​

"The issue we are raising is a significant one as we play a sport that is for permanently disabled athletes”

The Paralympian further added:

​

“It is unfair that able-bodied players see fame and money in para-sports and think that they can get early success and are trying to enter into Para-Badminton by manipulating the medical/disability documents,"

The concerning issue here is regarding Clause 5.2.1 of the BWF rule book for Para-Badminton which states that “Any player wishing to compete in a Para-Badminton event governed by BWF must have an eligible impairment and that impairment must be permanent.”

The two petitioners alleged that Vaishnavi’s disability is temporary. They state that a forged MRI is being used by her to prove her disability and participate in the Para Asian Games. At the time of writing no action or update has been provided by the federation regarding the matter.

Palak Kohli, Jyoti Verma, and Vaishnavi Puneyani all compete in the SL4 event at the Para Asian Games. Interestingly, all three were in action on Friday for their first group-stage match. Jyothi Verma lost her match in straight sets 2-0 while Palak Kohli retired. On the other hand, Vaishnavi Puneyani won her first group stage match in straight sets 2-0.

​