Hajiyeva won the gold for Azerbaijan in the Paralympics in Tokyo 2020. Now she has been stopped from competing in her previous category for visually impaired after new tests, several media report. The tests were conducted ahead of the World Championship in parajudo, held in Astana, Kazakhstan, this year, where she would participate.
The tests revealed that she has no visual impairment and therefore is banned for life from competing in para-sports.
Azerbaijan's national Paralympic Committee claims that the mistake is due to new classification rules and that the previous three categories for visually impaired or blind have been reduced to two after her Paralympic medal.
