Topic: News: Indian Lifters Test Positive Again and Again

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Fail dope test, weightlifter Chanu faces life ban

Sep 14: One of the most successful women weightlifters in India, Sanamacha Chanu confronted life ban after her 'B' sample test chucked out as dope positive.

The 'A' sample of 31-year-old Chanu, who won  Arjun award in 2000, was taken during the trials for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in Aug 2010 had tested positive for methylhexaneaine.

"Chanu's 'B' sample had also come out to be positive for methylhexaneamine. We have sent the notice to Chanu and Indian Weightlifting Federation," stated NADA officials, who conducted the dope test.

He also added, "We will fix a date for her if she wants to appear before the NADA disciplinary panel."

This is not the first time that her name came out in the drug consuming scam. Several times her name turned out in the dope case in the past.

[Jim Moser]

Chris,

I hope you are doing well. Is this longest thread in the history of the weightlifting exchange? Unbelievable!!!!

Aloha,
Jim

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Doing great Mr. Moser- homeland security nazis haven't come to get me yet. :)

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Wada snoops on Games Village
New Delhi: Dope snoops have descended on the Commonwealth Games Village.

In an unprecedented move, officials of World Anti Doping Agency (Wada) are conducting pre-Games tests, targeting teams with a history of drugs, which includes India’s weightlifting squad.

“The Wada officials have already set up their office in the Games Village,” said a source. “So far, they have collected around 150 urine and blood samples from different athletes,” he said.

A top Indian woman weightlifter, a medal prospect at the Games, was the first to be asked by the Wada to give her sample for testing, sources said.

Indian weightlifters have a history of dope offence in the Commonwealth Games. While Subroto Paul was the first to fail dope test in the 1990 Games in Auckland, Satheesha Rai and Krishnan Madasamy tested positive in the 2002 Manchester Games. Four years ago, Tejinder Singh and Edwin Raju were caught for similar offence.

India are considered one of the weightlifting powerhouses in the Commonwealth, having won 93 medals — including 33 gold — since 1966 when they took part in weightlifting for the first time. Only Austrawlia, with 145 medals, and England with 105 are ahead of India.

“This is for the first time the pre-Games testing has started in the Commonwealth Games,” said an official of the National Anti Doping Agency (Nada). “In the Winter Olympics Games in Canada, 30 athletes were caught for doping by Wada in pre-Games testing.”

In total, Wada is expected to collect nearly 2000 samples during the Games.

Interestingly, on Friday, the Swimming Federation of India (SFI) decided to induct two dope tainted athletes, Richa Mishra and Jyotsna Pansare, back in the Games squad after their suspension was provisionally lifted by the Nada hearing panel. Both swimmers had tested positive for the banned substance methylhexaneamine.

Ramanuj Mukherjee, the manager of the Indian swimming team, said: “We have sent letters to the Organising Committee (OC) to include the names of the two swimmers in the squad. Since the suspension has been lifted, we see no reason why the two girls should not be taken back in the squad.”

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) officials, however, made it clear that they would not be influenced by the decision of the swimming body.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Dope spectre haunts Indian lifters again

BANGALORE: The drug spectre is back to haunt Indian weightlifting. Five positive cases at the National Youth Championships held at Yamunanagar, Haryana this month have prompted the National Anti-Doping Agency to express its concern to the Weightlifting Federation of India and ask the body to set its house in order.

The five weightlifters, who NADA refused to identify, have been issued provisional suspensions and the first notice. The 'B' samples are yet to be tested. Four of the lot tested positive for steroids and the other a stimulant.

This was the second major infringement in two months, with eight weightlifters testing positive at the all India Railway championship in December last year. NADA found that steroids abuse was rampant in these cases too. "We are shocked at the sudden spurt in positive dope cases in such a short span of time," NADA director general Rahul Bhatnagar told TOI. "We have written to WFI, saying the increasing number of dope cases is worrisome and that they have to put an end to the menace."

WFI secretary general Sahdev Yadav admitted he was dismayed by the turn of events. "We will take strict action against the offenders. We will ban the weightlifter, coach and the state that he comes from, if found guilty."

WFI had to borrow Rs 1.75 crore last year to pay a dope fine to its international body so that its lifters could take part in the Commonwealth Games. International Weightlifting Federation had slapped a $5-lakh fine on WFI after six lifters flunked dope tests conducted by WADA last year.

Days after WFI paid the fine, Manchester Commonwealth Games gold medallist Sanamacha Chanu (53kg) failed a NADA test for banned stimulant methylehexameamine.

[Matt Erdman]

Wow 

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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IWLF suspends Maharashtra, Railways

The Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) has suspended the Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) and the Maharashtra State Weightlifting Association (MSWA) for one year each after lifters belonging to these units tested positive for prohibited substances.

Eight RSPB lifters tested positive during the inter-Railways championship in Kolkata from December 1 to 3 last, while three MSWA lifters returned ‘positive' results in the National youth and junior championships at Jagadhri, Haryana, from January 2 to 9.

RSPB will remain suspended till December 3, while MSWA will face the punishment till January 7 next year.

According to IWLF Secretary General Sahdev Yadav, apart from the suspension, each unit has to pay a fine of Rs 50,000. Besides, they would be required to deposit additional fine of Rs 50,000 for each athlete who had failed the dope test.

Of the eight Railways lifters, ‘B' samples of six had been confirmed as positive. Two of the three Maharashtra lifters have also tested positive for their ‘B' samples. Others' ‘B' sample results were awaited.

So far, the athletes to have tested positive for both their samples are Ashim Biswas, K. Gnanasekaran. K. Arumugam, Ranbir Singh, Atul Kumar and Darshan Chaudhary of RSPB and Ganesh Mali and Diganti Gadave of MSWA.

The IWLF has also taken disciplinary action against two coaches, Pravin Vyahare and S. Chendu of Maharashtra. They have been suspended for two years.

“Three more lifters from another state association have tested positive. We are waiting for their ‘B' sample results,” Yadav said.

Yadav said the IWLF would continue its effort to thwart doping activities. “We will conduct dope tests in the forthcoming National Games as well as the National championship (in Bangalore from March 23-27),” he said.

The dope testing at the National Games is to be conducted by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) which has been entrusted with the responsibility by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The NADA will also be responsible for ‘results management'.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Two lifters fail dope tests in continental club meet

NEW DELHI: The dope menace returned to haunt India with two weightlifters being tested positive for banned substance in the Continental Clubs Grand Prix at Penang in Malaysia in December last year.

Sukhen Dey and Anupdeo Toppo, who had won gold and silver in the 56kg and 77kg categories respectively in the December 11-16 event, were tested poistive for stimulant methylhexaneamine.

Indian Weightlifting Federation secretary general Sahdev Yadav said that the A samples of the two lifters were tested positive but the international parent body has not informed it of the B sample results.

"We have not got the results of the B sample tests," said Sahdev who had just returned from Tashkent after the Asian Weightlifting Federation Congress.

The Continental Clubs Grand Prix was introduced last year by the International Weightlifting Federation to promote the sport to a wider audience.

Dey, who had become the first Indian junior lifter to win a medal in a World Championships by bagging a bronze in 56kg in Romania, represented Services in Penang while Anupdeo took part for Universal Club, according to international federation website.

Sahdev said the IWF had not given sanction to Services to take part in the event and the dope results would not count against the name of the national federation.

He also said if at all the two violations are to be counted against the IWF, they will be deemed to have been committed last year and not this year and there was no chance of India being banned by the international federation if another lifter tests positive in 2011.

Officials who are familiar with the rules, however, said that the dope results will be counted against the IWF since the two lifters are registered with the national federation and they were taking part in an International Weightlifting Federation sanctioned event.

They also said that the dope result would be counted as violation for last year and not for this year, and so there is no danger of Indian being banned if a third lifter tests positive this year.

Meanwhile, IWF president Birendra Prasad Baishya has been made a board member of the Asian Weightlifting Fedetaion in the AWF Congress which concluded in Tashkent on Wednesday.

Mohamed Yousef Al Mana of Qatar has been elected AWF president and Ali Moradi of Iran as General Secretary.