New Delhi: The Athletics Federation of India told the Sports Ministry on Monday that triple jumper Renjith Maheswary was never punished by it for a dope offence, a development which may get him the Arjuna Award.
Hours before he was to be presented the prestigious Arjuna Award on August 31, Maheswary was told under dramatic circumstances that he will have to wait for the coveted honour until the completion of an inquiry on whether he had failed a dope test in 2008.
He was, however, assured that he would get the prestigious award if he is exonerated after an inquiry by Sports Secretary PK Deb.
National record holder Maheswary has all along maintained that he has done nothing wrong.
AFI President Adille Sumariwala told PTI that the report has been sent to the Sports Ministry after a search of the files of the last five years.
“We have sent the report to the Sports Ministry,” he said without elaborating.
A source in the AFI said that the federation had written to the Ministry that Maheswary had never been suspended for any dope offence.
“The report says Maheswary has never been suspended for any dope offence. It says the AFI has no knowledge of punishment being handed to Maheswary for any dope violation. It has no such record,” the source said.
Earlier in the day, Sports Secretary had said that Ministry was waiting for the report from the federation.
“We are waiting for a report from the AFI. There is no record with SAI about Maheswary having failed a dope test and so we have asked the AFI to tell us regarding this issue,” he said.
Reports have quoted Deb as saying that Meheswary could have taken the banned drug (Ephedrine stimulant) “accidentally” under prescription by a doctor.
An AFI source had told PTI that Maheswary indeed flunked a dope test during the National Open Athletics Championships in Kochi in September 2008 which was kept under wraps by the Federation.
According to the source, Maheswary was a handed a three month punishment by the AFI Appeals Panel. (PTI)