JOIN USHurdler caught in dope net
A 400M hurdler has been provisionally suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency after the banned drug meldonium was found in his living quarters at the NIS, Patiala, during a search operation.
The athlete, who has represented India at the Asian Games in Incheon, has been asked to leave the national camp. The surprise NADA operation took place on April 17 and found the athlete’s room having an assortment of injection vials and syringes. On subsequent testing at the National Dope Testing Laboratory, New Delhi, meldonium was detected in one of them.
“We obviously can’t reveal the name of the athlete but we had information last month. We sent out a team to NIS Patiala for a search operation with cooperation from SAI. We got several suspicious substances and syringes from the room of this athlete. On being tested, one of them turned out to be meldonium. It is a serious matter,” NADA chief Navin Agarwal told Deccan Herald on Wednesday.
Meldonium was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2015 after it found “evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance” by virtue of carrying more oxygen to muscle tissues. The substance came into the public view when tennis star Maria Sharapova tested positive for it at the Australian Open last year and was suspended. She returned to competition recently after serving a nine-month suspension.
Meldonium is manufactured in Latvia and only distributed in Baltic countries and Russia.
The Indian athlete has time until next Monday to explain how he got possession of the substance. He would then have to appear before the NADA disciplinary panel to defend himself. A failure to establish his innocence may lead to a four-year ban. However, the fact that the substance was found in his room apparently in his absence, would make it an uphill task for NADA to prove a charge of “possession”. This is the first time NADA has charged an athlete for possession of a banned substance.
The case once again brings the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) under the scanner with several of its athletes being caught in the dope net. The leading athletes failing dope tests last year included shot-putter Inderjeet Singh, who was caught for steroid use prior to the Rio Games, sprinter Dharambir Singh who was dropped from the Olympic side in the nick of time on a steroid positive, and who has since been slapped with an eight-year ban, and woman quarter-miler Priyanka Panwar whose case has been heard and order reserved.
AFI President Adille Sumariwalla said it had already taken action on the matter.
“We have sent show cause notices to three coaches in NIS, Patiala, and asked them to explain how it happened. Once they reply, we will proceed with further enquiry,” he said.