Topic: News: Indian Lifters Test Positive Again and Again

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Indian Weightlifters Banned for a Year

New Delhi: International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has announced one year ban on Indian weightlifters prohibiting them from taking part in any international events till March 2007.

The ban will be effective from March 2006 when two Indian weightlifters -- Tejbir Singh and Edwin Raju -- tested positive for banned substance stanozanol during the Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

Shailaja Pujari was another lifter to test positive for the same substance during the pre-event national camp at Patiala.

As per the IWF rules, three positive cases in one calendar year invite ban for a country.

B Prameelavalli was the fourth lifter caught doping and she was pulled out of the Melbourne-bound squad at the last moment.

The IWF had announced the ban on its website immediately after the Melbourne Games but were undecided on the duration of suspension to be slapped on the national body which has been caught in the doping net for the second time within seven months of coming out of a one-year suspension period after the Athens Olympics fiasco.

"The IWF conveyed us yesterday that our lifters will not be able to take part in any international events for one year -- till March 2007. The ban will be effective since the time of Commonwealth Games where our lifters tested positive," Indian Weightlifting Federation President H J Dora said on Friday.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

This is extremely disappointing- only a one year suspension after numerous, repeated violations and evidence of conspiracy to cheat, suppress investigation and reform, etc, etc.

When is enough enough already? In what way did India deserve a break here and not at least a two year suspension?

This just stinks.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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'Lifting Federation Not Doing Enough'

NEW DELHI, July 27: The Indian Weightlifting Federation claims that it is serious about dealing with the menace of doping, but a senior Sports Authority of India official believes the game's governing body is not "doing enough".

The federation has time and again said that it has taken all possible steps to check the abuse of drugs by weightlifters, but a senior SAI official said, "I don't agree with their claims. They are not doing enough in this regard."

The official said that "some officials" in the federation are to be blamed for the spurt in doping cases in weightlifting.

"Whenever the lifters win medals, they take full claim for that. But whenever they got entangled in the doping net, they put the entire blame on SAI," he said. "SAI is doing its bit in making the athletes aware of the menace and its repercussions. We are also taking preventive measures. Before every camp, the regional directors and the doctors educate each and every lifter," he said.

Secretary of the federation, Balbir Bhatia, however rubbished these allegations. "The SAI official is not aware of what we are doing. I am asking those who claim themselves to be experts to tell us what we need to do more to stop it. Unfortunately those who are saying such things don't know the stark reality," he said. "My question is why should we be blamed when the lifters were in SAI's camp for last 11 months before their departure for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in March?"

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Ban: Lifters Face an Uncertain Future
By Biswajyoti Brahma

NEW DELHI, July 27: Hundreds are going to pay the price for the fouls committed by four. This is the sad scenario of Indian weightlifting after the Indian body was banned for a year following the positive dope tests of Shailaja Pujari, B Prameelavalli, Edwin Raju and Tajinder Singh.

There is an air of uncertainty in lifting circles as no one knows whether the Indian federation will be able to hold camps for the lifters till the ban period is over. The federation has received no feedback from the Sports Ministry - which bears the expenses of such camps - even a fortnight after the ban.

The federation, according to its secretary, had forwarded the communication regarding the ban to the ministry a couple of weeks back. "We are hopeful of getting some positive response from the government. The federation does not have resources to hold any camps on its own. I believe the government will note the performance of the lifters before taking any decision," said secretary Balbir Bhatia.

"If the government okays staging of camps, it will be good news for the lifters. If they don't then we will ask the lifters to train at home," he said. "Nevertheless, we will organise the senior, junior and sub-junior national championships."

Everything now depends on the government's decision. The lifters are going to be worst hit in case the ministry declines to organise camps for them till March next year. Several lifters are now based at Sports Authority of India's (SAI) Centre of Excellence - in Lucknow, Bangalore and Imphal.

Veteran lifter Kunjarani Devi said the ban would affect the lifters' morale as well as preparations. "It's not easy to keep yourself motivated if such bans are imposed again and again. We will be missing out on Doha Asian Games, but we don't have any other choice," she said.

Another lifter, requesting anonymity, said she felt like announcing her retirement after the ban. "Just imagine our condition. We spent a year in wilderness when India got the one-year ban after the Athens Olympics. We have to face the music again after just a period of seven months. Is there any point in continuing in this sport for no fault of ours," she said.

"We don't know how long this uncertainly will last. There are so many junior lifters whose careers will be in jeopardy if such a situation persists for long. The training at SAI centres is far from exhaustive. The camps hone the skills of lifters and help them gain vital experience. Unlike the camps, training lacks seriousness here (SAI centres). No camps for us means no medals in future," said the bitter lifter. Meanwhile, a senior SAI official said there was no way out but to wait for the ministry's direction. "The situation is pathetic. This is definitely a punishment for the innocent. You feel for those lifters who are facing the problem for the crime committed by a few," he said.

The federation said it understands the plight of innocent lifters and had requested the IWF to serve life bans on the four tainted lifters instead of a one-year ban on India "so that those who are not involved could carry on with their preparations." Amidst all this, the federation, like always, is not willing to take the blame for this sorry state of affairs. The problem of doping in weightlifting is deep-rooted and has got worse in recent times. The same officials are running the sport for years but accountability is a word still alien to them.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

This is another reason we need a lifetime suspension on the first positive for the cheater. This deterrent would minimize the need to punish whole teams for the offense of individuals- though the responsibility falls on the Indian Weightlifting Federation for failing to enforce doping restrictions, as their own appointed investigators have said and who have now resigned due to interference with their efforts to solve the problem.

On the other hand, India did request permission to ban cheaters for life on the first offense, and were denied that ability by either the IWF, WADA, or the IOC- I don't recall exactly who said they couldn't do it.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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NO PAY, NO PLAY!

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has refused to financially help the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) pay the 50,000 dollar fine imposed on it by the sport's international governing body.

The International Weightlifting Federation banned their Indian subsidiary for a year and imposed a fine of 50,000 dollars about ten days ago on charges of Indian lifters using banned substances.

A staggering ten lifters have tested positive for banned substances in just the last five years.

Wary of setting a dangerous precedent, the IOA says that while it would like to help for training and infrastructure, it will not help them pay the fine.

"They will have to make their own arrangements," said Suresh Kalmadi, IOA president.

Officials from the IWF revealed that this announcement meant the onset of a crisis.

Their Executive Committee will now have to find a fresh source of funds when they discuss this issue over the next week or so.

If they fail to pay the fine, the lifters could be banned from international tournaments for at least two years, and possibly even four.

This means that no Indian lifters would be able to participate at any international event, including the Doha Asiad, the Beijing Olympics, and possibly even the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.

"I think they should be banned for life, because if we don't take such action, it would almost be like encouraging this malpractice. The juniors will think they can get away with it," said Olympic Bronze medallist Karnam Malleshwari.

The Indian body had planned last year to make the athletes sign a bond, which would compel them to pay back whatever was invested in their training in case they test positive at an international event.

Perhaps this is now the only way that they can raise a major chunk of the fine, given the fact that financial assistance isn't forthcoming from any quarters.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Report: Authorities Turn a Blind Eye to Doping in Athletics
By Sambuddha Dutt

The menace of doping is most apparent in India in the sport of weightlifting, but Athletics in this country is slowly coming under this cloud as well.

However, authorities in charge refuse to acknowledge the existence of this dangerous trend.

India's top athletes like Sunita Rani and Neelam Jaswant Singh have in the past been charged with using banned substances.

Although the International Olympic Committee did clear Sunita's name, Neelam was convicted after the Helsinki World Championships last year. The roots of this problem, however, run deeper.

"The coaches don't accept players until they agree to dope. Nothing secretive, everyone knows about it," said Sunita Godara, former Asian marathon champion.

But the Indian Athletics Federation (AFI) refuses to acknowledge the gravity of the situation.

According to them, enough measures have been taken to prevent athletes from doping. The disappearance of about a dozen athletes when World Anti Doping Authority officials came visiting a pre-Commonwealth Games camp in Patiala in February, is also explained as an anomaly.

"There is no major problem for us at all," said Lalit Bhanot, secretary, AFI.

"WADA officials come with specific names, not random ones. The athletes who disappeared had nothing to do with it, they later appeared," he added.

While Indian athletes and officials have a lot to learn from the cases of Justin Gatlin and Floyd Landis, convictions of Indian athletes at major tournaments will continue, unless the authorities get their act together soon and stop sweeping things under the carpet.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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India Confident of Hosting 2014 Asian Games
By C Aprameya

DOHA • India’s capital New Delhi and Incheon, South Korea are the frontrunners to host the 17th Asian Games in 2014. However, India is confident of winning the bid to host the Games, according to Raja Randhir Singh (pictured right), Secretary-General, Olympic Council of Asia and Indian Olympic Association.

“Hopefully we will win the bid to host the 2014 Asian Games. We are confident. Most of the countries including Qatar are supporting us. We have confidence in winning the bid and hosting the Asian Games,” Randhir Singh told The Peninsula yesterday.

Randhir Singh, who was here to attend the Olympic Council of Asia’s Coordination Commission’s meeting, said that it was important for the Asian Games to travel all over.

“I personally feel that the Asian Games should move around. That is the reason everybody supported Doha because Arab countries had not hosted Asian Games earlier. Though, initially there were worries about how Qatar would host, they have proved and are progressing very well. We are impressed with the preparations. Any country can host and its not a problem. Most of the Asian Games so far have been held in Far East Asia and South East Asia. And in our zone, India is the only country which got an opportunity to host the Games. In West Asia, after Tehran this is only the second time in the zone which is hosting now, that is Doha. So if you go by rotation it will be 32 years since the Games have come back to our zone. In Asia there are five zones so it has come back now. It is a new era now, a lot of things have changed over the years. India is also emerging as a superpower and it is a good time for the Asian Games to come back to us in 2014,” Randhir Singh, a former Indian Olympics shooter, explained.

India hosted the first Asian Games in 1951 and again in 1982. Chinese city Guangzhou will play host to the 16th edition of the Games in 2010.

Delhi is scheduled to host the Commonwealth Games in 2010 and Randhir Singh promised it to be the ‘greatest ever.’

“I think 2010 Delhi Games will be the greatest ever Commonwealth Games. The infrastructure will be world class and the hospitality which Asian countries provide and India in particular, will make the Games best,” he said.

Talking about the infrastructure coming up for the Commonwealth Games, he said: “We are building new infrastructure. We have three indoor stadia coming up. And added to this we are refurbishing the existing stadia. We are setting up a separate shooting range for the Games. The Nehru Stadium is being redone. The Dhyanchand Stadium, which hosted first Asian Games in India in 1982, is also getting a facelift. We are putting up three astroturf pitches for the Games. We are also setting up a new gymnasium. So overall, a lot is being done in terms of infrastructure.”

India would be represented by a large contingent at the Doha Asian Games. However, Randhir Singh rued the fact that their medal prospects in weightlifting had been reduced to nought after the International Weightlifting Federation fined $50,000 and handed one-year ban to Indian lifters earlier this year.

Four of India’s weightlifters had tested positive before and during the Melbourne Commonwealth Games and the International body has banned Indian lifters till March 2007 from participating at the international level.

“Unfortunately it has happened. Due to this, we lost medals in the SAF Games. We will miss medals here too. We are just policing agents we can make people aware. I was also a member of Wada. We have been creating awareness about drugs among athletes and coaches. But in spite of that if somebody cheats, it is really unfortunate. Athletes taking drugs and masking agents is really a shame but we have to fight against it. It is bad luck that we are going to miss out on medals in weightlifting but there are rules and we adhere to them,” Randhir Singh said.

“We will have a large contingent participating in the Doha Asian Games. Apart from shooting, archery we have good chance in other sports also including athletics. Our athletes finished on top at the last edition of the Games in Busan. So this time around too we are hopeful of winning medals.”