Five more athletes flunk dope tests
New Delhi: Doping in athletics took scandalous proportions on Thursday with five more athletes, including Commonwealth and Asian Games gold medallist Sini Jose, flunking the tests conducted by National Anti-Doping Agency.
Jose, top quarter-miler Jauna Murmu, who was also caught for doping on Wednesday, another 400m runner Tiana Mary Thomas, long jumper Hari Krishnan and shot putter Sonia returned positive for anabolic steroids in their ‘A’ samples.
The samples were taken by NADA during the June 11-14 National Inter-State Athletics Meet in Bangalore.
IOA acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra said that the apex body has worked hard to clean India’s image and it won’t tolerate cheaters.
“This a very serious case. I have called for a meeting with Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and Sports Authority of India (SAI). We will have a thorough inquiry into the dope cases. Incidentally just before the Commonwealth Games a large number of athletes were caught. We also had to pay a huge fine to ensure the participation of weighltlifters, who had also flunked dope tests, in the New Delhi Commonwealth Games,” he said.
Jose had won gold in women’s 4X400m relay race in the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games last year.
Jose, Jauna, Hari Krishnan and Sonia tested positive for metabolites of methandienone while Thomas had another anabolic steroid epimethandiol in her urine sample.
“All five of them have been provisionally suspended by NADA,” Athletics Federation of India Director M L Dogra said.
Dogra said that the AFI will look into how so many athletes have tested positive for anabolic steroids.
“There is no chance these steroids came from the food supplements being given at the national camps. The talk of foreign coaches being hand in glove are also not true,” Dogra said.
On Wednesday, Sini’s team-mate in the women’s 4x400m relay quartet that won gold in the Commonwealth and Asian Games Mandeep Kaur, and Jauna, who finished fourth in the 400m hurdles in the Asian Games last year, tested positive for anabolic steroids, leading to their suspension till disciplinary hearing by the AFI.
Dogra said that the disciplinary hearings of Mandeep and Jauna before a AFI panel will start in 10 days.