Two registered athletes under the Bangladesh Athletics Federation, Jannat Begum of the Bangladesh Army and Kabita Roy of the Bangladesh Navy, have been permanently barred from competing in women’s events after medical examinations classified them as male.

The examinations were conducted at Bangladesh Medical University (BMU) following complaints from their respective organisations regarding their sex classification.

On September 10 last year, BMU formed a five-member expert medical board to conduct physical and medical examinations of the two athletes. The examinations were completed on May 11 this year, and the board submitted its final report to the Bangladesh Athletics Federation on May 16.

According to the medical board’s report, the hormone and physical examinations of 28-year-old Jannat Begum and 19-year-old Kabita Roy identified them as male according to medical criteria.

Under World Athletics regulations, athletes competing in women’s events are required to maintain a testosterone level below 2.5 for 24 consecutive months. Both Jannat and Kabita failed to meet the requirement.

At a federation meeting today, the medical findings and international sporting regulations were reviewed, after which Jannat Begum and Kabita Roy were classified as male and permanently barred from competing as female athletes.

As a result, Jannat Begum’s medals from the javelin throw and discus throw events have been cancelled. These include eight gold, one silver and two bronze medals, along with two new national records.

Kabita Roy’s one gold, one silver and two bronze medals from the 100m, 200m and 4×100m events have also been cancelled.

The cancelled medals will be redistributed among athletes who finished in the next positions in the respective events in accordance with the applicable rules through a process known as a “bodily shift.”