Topic: News: Indian Lifters Test Positive Again and Again

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Sports Minister to review weightlifting dope shame

New Delhi, May 13 (PTI) With the ghost of doping returning to haunt Indian weightlifting, Sports Minister M S Gill has taken strong exception to the latest dope case involving Kavita Devi and has decided to call a review meeting to discuss the menace.

After weightlifters let down the nation at Athens Olympics and the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, Gill does not want to take any chances ahead of the Beijing Games, to be staged in August.

Kavita, a 75 kg weightlifter, was caught for using a banned substance in an out of competition test conducted by World Anti-Doping Agency officials in March but the Indian Weightlifting Federation disclosed it only a couple of days back.

Kavita's 'A' sample was found positive for banned steroid methadienone and she has refused to go for 'B' sample testing. She has been handed a two-year ban from participating in any national and international events besides imposing a fine of USD 2,000 which the Indian Federation will have to cough up if she did not pay.

It has been reliably learnt that Sports Minister's private secretary rang up Indian Weightlifting Federation office today and sought the details of how Kavita, training at the Lucknow SAI Cetre's Centre of Excellence, returned positive.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Sports Minister calls IWF chief; another lifter tested positive

New Delhi, May 16 (PTI) Days after Kavita Devi brought another dope shame to the country, Sports Minister MS Gill has asked Indian Weightlifting Federation chief Harbhajan Singh to explain him on Monday how the Federation would deal with the drug menace in the sport.
Sources told PTI that this is the first step by the minister in his effort to deal with the drug menace in Indian weightlifting.

Gill has taken exception to the culture of drug use by weightlifters and would review the whole situation soon.

To add matters worse for Harbhajan, another youth lifter has been tested positive for using banned substance in an internal test conducted by Sports Authority of India.

Karnataka lifter Paritosh Upadhyay's 'A' sample, collected early this year, has been found to contain traces of banned substance in the tests conducted in SAI laboratory.

"The Federation is trying to hide the youth lifter's result so that the president (Harbhajan) does not face further embarrassment when he meets the Sports Minister on Monday," a source told PTI today.

The sample was taken when Paritosh was training at NIS Patiala to prepare for the Commonwealth Youth Games, to be held in Pune later this year.

It would attract a ban of two years and Rs 25,000 fine from the Indian Weightlifting Federation.

Meanwhile, in the IWF executive committee meeting in Lucknow yesterday, BR Gulati has been elected General Secretary to succeed Balbir Singh Bhatia who resigned last month.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Lifter tests positive

New Delhi: Doping scandal continues to haunt Indian weightlifting with another lifter testing positive for using a banned substance, according to Sports Authority of India (SAI) sources.

A few days back, women lifter Kavita Devi, once considered a medal prospect at the international level, was banned by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) when she tested positive for banned steroid methadienone in an out of competition test conducted by the world anti-doping agency in March at NIS, Patiala.

Kavita, who was a member of the Indian team for the Asian championships in Japan last month, was sent back and was later banned for two years. She has also been fined Rs 25,000 by the Indian federation.

In the latest incident, a Karnataka lifter Paritosh Upadhyay (94 kg) has tested positive after his A sample, collected earlier this year. He has been found to contain traces of a banned substance in the tests conducted at the SAI laboratory.

Sources said that the sports minister M.S. Gill is extremely upset with the development and has asked the IWF president Harbhajan Singh to explain the situation.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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IWF sends request for Olympics wild card entries

Patiala (PTI): The Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has requested the international federation to give wild card entries to Indian contenders for the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games.

President of IWF Harbhajan Singh said they had sent a request to provide one wild card each in men and women's sections and the International Weightlifting Federation will consider the matter in its next meeting on May 31.

If the international federation provides wild cards to India, then the IWF can send another woman competitor to the Beijing Games besides world number 14 Monica Devi, who has already booked a berth in the Olympics.

The claim for wild card entries, however, could meet a cold shoulder in the meeting as the Indians are not holding higher ranks internationally, which is unlikely to be changed before the Games commence.

Besides, Indian claims may also face objections due to the scandalous record in the Athens Olympic Games in 2004 where Pratima Kumari and Sanamacha Chanu were tested positive for banned drugs and were suspended by the apex body.

Last time, two Indian lifters had got wild card entries for the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Clean up the mess, Sports Minister tells IWF
      
New Delhi, May 19 (PTI) Sports Minister M S Gill today told the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) to clean up the mess and ensure that dope-tainted lifters do not disgrace the country anymore.
In his meeting with IWF President Harbhajan Singh at the Sports Ministry today, Gill made it clear that while the athletes had to maintain a clear record, the federations too needed to come clean on financial matters and furnish audited accounts.

"Indian sports must have a clean and high reputation in the matter of drug use," Gill told the IWF chief in the review meeting, which was convened after yet another Indian lifter, Kavita Rani, tested positive for banned substance.

He clarified that it was not only about weightlifting but his ministry would come hard on drug offence in any discipline.

Gill said country needed talented young sportspersons with impeccable records, and not drug cheats. He said he would look into the setting up of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), to ensure that it grows into an independent and efficient organisation of international repute.

He gave two months' time to the federation to clean up the mess before another review meeting.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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The curious case of the absent lifters

New Delhi, May 28 With only one probable making it to the camp, IWF unable to send samples to WADA in time

It seems the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) is yet to begin its Beijing preparations in earnest. Of the three probables shortlisted for the national camp that commenced on May 20 in Pune, only Monica Devi (69 kg) is supposed to have reported in as of now.

The two other lifters — Geeta Rani and P Shalaija Pujari — says IWF secretary BR Gulati, will do so shortly. But this lax attitude by the IWF has meant that the mandatory information on the lifters that the federation was supposed to send to the international body for random dope testing has not been done till now.

“The lifters have not been able to report for the camp due to some personal reasons. All of them are expected to arrive in the first week of June,” Gulati said.

Since the final selection trials for Beijing, says Gulati, are scheduled for the first week of July, skipping the camp for a few days is okay. “The best possible lifters will represent the country,” he added.

The IWF secretary, however, categorically denied that the lifters are avoiding international dope testing officials. Recently, WADA officials had made repeated rounds of the national camp in Patiala. And the Indian federation had been left red in the face when Kavita Devi failed a WADA dope test. She was sent back home from Japan, where the team were participating in the Olympic qualifiers.

Under fire
The discipline was in sharp focus during the 2004 Athens Olympics. Unfortunately, a doping scandal rocked the nation when two of the lifters failed the test in Athens. The Indian federation was slapped with a one-year suspension from participating in international meets.

To avoid a repeat of Athens, says Gulati, the federation is making an all out effort. Gulati hinted at a change of guard in the coaching department at the national camp. Though Gulati chose not to elaborate, coaches whose credentials are doubtful might be kept away from the camp. All Gulati would say, though, was: “The federation wants to groom more coaches for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.That’s all we can say.”

Spot of bother
But the IWF would have its fingers crossed. Already one lifter has failed the WADA dope test. Two more positive cases, and the federation would be in another spot of bother with international authorities. Also, such credentials don’t augur well for a country hosting the Youth Commonwealth Games in October.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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SAI’s Lucknow centre new doping hub for weightlifting
By Navneet Singh

New Delhi, May 29 Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow is fast gaining the reputation of being one of the epicentres of doping in Indian women’s weightlifting. Kavita Devi and Inu Rani — who tested positive for anabolic steroids over the last three months — trained there at the government- run Sports Authority of India (SAI) Centre of Excellence in Weightlifting for Women. In all, at least eight cases from Lucknow have been reported over the last six years — more than any city.

“Had the centre not been under SAI’s jurisdiction, the number could’ve been ever more,” said an official of the UP weightlifting association who did not wish to be named. “The samples are taken by SAI dope-testing officials, and tested in their labs. Some get reported but there is a strong feeling within the community that a lot of the cases are swept under the carpet.”

But SAI’s top officials, who have long been accused of overlooking the doping issue, decline to talk. When contacted, SAI’s deputy director SD Bakshi, who oversees the centre, did not comment.

In 2002, two years after the centre was set up, Ranu Mohanti and Thoinu Devi were the first reported cases of failed tests. Since then, it’s almost become a regular feature at domestic events.

And the biggest blow was last month when Kavita Devi, a prospective medallist at the continental Olympic qualifiers, failed a random out-of-competition test held by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

She travelled to Japan for the event but was called back at the last minute.

SAI’s lifting expert Hansa Sharma and her husband GP Sharma, who run the centre, deny that there is any problem, or that more and more lifters from Lucknow are now being caught for doping.

Hansa, a Dronacharya winner, faced temporary suspension in 2002 when some of her trainees were caught in the dope net, before being reinstated. Easy availability

“The coach can’t supervise what the players take to lift performance. Almost all banned drugs are easily available over the counter. After training, it’s difficult to keep a check on what players do,” she told The Indian Express from Pune, where she is supervising the national camp in preparation for Beijing.

Even top officials in SAI’s corporate office were reluctant to talk on the subject. Trying to get them to comment led to the regular going-around-in-circles story.

Amar Bhardwaj, who heads the coaching and operations division, asked us to speak to the Director General Sayan Chatterjee, who in turn communicated through his office that we should talk to the PRO in the Sports Ministry because he did not have time to meet mediapersons, and the PR office said only a senior official could comment on the issue.

Indian Weightlifting Federation president Harbhajan Singh, also from Lucknow, refused to go into any details but said: “We’re trying to cleanse the system.”

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Satish Rai, Anita Kumari doping cases remain unresolved for more than year
By K. P. Mohan

NEW DELHI: More than a year after weightlifters Satish Rai and Anita Kumari were charged with anti-doping rule violations their cases have been left pending for some reason or the other by the Indian Weightlifting Federation.

Both lifters had tested positive for steroid stanozolol, Rai at the National Games in Guwahati in February last year and Anita at the National championships in Visakhapatnam in December 2006.

Rai’s Guwahati violation, for which he was disqualified by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) after “due process”, was his second offense, he having tested positive at the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002 for the stimulant, strychnine. Rai faced a life ban because of his second offense.

Quandary

That is what has put the Indian federation in a quandary. Last December, it decided at its Executive Committee meeting in Bhubaneswar that a panel would be set up to look into both the cases.

The panel, under the chairmanship of Mr. G.R. Beg, a vice-president of the federation from Jammu and Kashmir, apparently met and heard Rai or his representatives and Anita’s lawyer during the past few months. The exact details of the meetings are not available but the panel did submit its report to the President of the federation, Harbhajan Singh.

What could be the delay then?

“The panel has given its opinion on the cases, but has not made any recommendation about the punishment to be handed out to the lifters,” Mr. Harbhajan Singh told The Hindu on Saturday when contacted in Lucknow. “I have sent the report back to the committee with a few queries and sought a decision as early as possible. I hope to dispose it of within a week,” said Mr. Singh.

Ten months after the IOA stripped Rai of his medals in the last National Games, a decision has been left pending since the Indian federation is unsure of the rules pertaining to two offenses in which one (Manchester) attracted only a six-month suspension under the prevailing sanctions in 2002. It approached the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) for clarification last year, but received none, according to officials. Both of the Karnataka lifter’s tests were conducted in WADA-accredited laboratories. The IWF anti-doping rules stipulate that hearing should be completed within three months of the ‘results management process’.

As for Anita Kumari, her petition against the charges brought forward by the Indian federation was dismissed by the Delhi High Court last December following the confirmation of her ‘positive’ through the ‘B’ sample test at the WADA-accredited laboratory in Penang, Malaysia. Her ‘A’ sample was tested in the Delhi laboratory.

Anita also had undergone a suspension for a stimulant violation in 2003, but the drug in question, pseudoephedrine, is no longer a prohibited substance and thus the Andhra lifter should escape life ban and get only a two-year suspension of which she has already served 17 months.