Topic: News: Indian Lifters Test Positive Again and Again

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Link

Weightlifting Again Under The Hammer
By Ramu Sharma
 
Within less than a year after it had completed a one-year sentence of suspension, the Weightlifting Federation of India has been sent into wilderness with the specific duration of suspension to be decided later. The International Federation has informed of its decision to suspend the Indian Federation after two of its lifters tested positive to performance enhanced drugs during the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne recently.

Coming on top of two earlier cases of Shailaja Pujari (tested just before the Games) and Prameelavalli withdrawn from the squad because of “family and personal” reasons, the numbers add up rather embarrassingly for the Indian Federation to find an explanation.

The regularity with which the lifters continue to violate the drug code is very difficult to understand. They know the dangers of drugs and are aware of the consequences when caught. Yet, they continue to indulge in these practices, unmindful of the harm done to the discipline, the Federation and, of course, the reputation of the country.

It is a pity that weightlifting is at the centre of all the unsavoury debate. It is perhaps the one discipline which had given some status to the country at the international level with a quite a few of the stars, women lifters in particular, gaining recognition at the highest grade. It is also a very popular sport, a sport in which the women have out lifted the men.

Yet, for all its success at the international level, it is also the one sport which had come under strict scrutiny of both the drug-detecting sleuths in a more determined manner than in any other games. Athletics, of course, has also come under the scanner and the Indian Federation has not exactly been able to convince the public how so many athletes disappeared from the camp in Patiala just about the time WADA officials came to visit. Pure coincidence? Of course!

There is now no point in playing the blame game. The Federation has done just about everything to keep the slate clean. Perhaps it is the only Federation in the country to have insisted on its affiliate units to go for drug tests in the tournaments conducted at every level. What is also a fact is that not all the affiliate units have followed the instructions. The reasons for not doing so are many, the main one being lack of finances.

Yet, something must be done. Along with athletics, weightlifting has a very big international presence. In addition to that it has a very high rate of success and thus comes under scrutiny more often. And it is a very physical sport and though it has a limited audience appeal and even less following among the public, it makes more news. Unfortunately, these days, it is not the success story that is hitting the headlines.

The Federation, of course, has had to pay the penalty but suspension will not stop drug abuse. It appears to be much more wide spread. Something has to be done. The sport should not suffer because of a few irresponsible lifters. The Sports Ministry and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) should sit down with the officials and coaches of the Weightlifting Federation and work out a solution.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Link

Indian Weightlifting Federation Plead for Ban Reconsideration  
 
New Delhi, June 07: The Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has urged the world body to waive off the hefty hundred thousand dollar fine slapped on it in the wake of country's two lifters having tested postive at Commonwealth Games.

''We have accepted the one year ban imposed on us by the by International Weightlifting Federation but we are in no position to pay 100,000 dollar fine and we have appealed against the fine,'' IWF president H J Dora told reporters here yesterday.

Dora said the IWF made the request for fine waiver during the world body's meeting held in Beijing last month and, ''we are awaiting the reply.''

He said, ''we have informed the world body that lifters tested postive at Melbourne during the Commonwealth Games have been banned for life,'' and added that the IWF had taken several steps to get rid of the drug menance.

''We are committed to have drug-free sport but the game (weightlifting) will suffer in India if the world body insist on the fine because we are just not in a position to pay such a huge amount.''

Dora sounded hopeful of a postive response from the world body. ''I think they understand our position,'' he added.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Link

One-year Ban on Indian Weightlifters

International Weightlifting Federation 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 weighlifters -- 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 calender 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 imediately 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.

"But the Federation activities will be on and we will continue our competitions at domestic level," he said.

The IWF had earlier posted on its website - "Regrettably, four adverse analytical findings were reported on the occasion of doping controls carried out on the Indian national team members this year. The Indian Weightlifting Federation has been suspended, the duration of which will be decided by the IWF Executive Board at the end of May."

"The four competitors concerned are B Prameela Valli, Shailaja Pujari, Edwin Raju and Tejinder Singh. Their provisional suspension will remain in force as long as all the applicable procedures have been completed," it said.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Link

One Year Ban and $50,000 or It May Be Two Year Ban

The Indian Weightlifting Federation has been banned by the international body for one year and slapped with a fine of $50,000.

The stringent action was taken after four of its lifters tested positive during the Commonwealth Games in March.

The penalty means that no Indian lifter will be participating in the Doha Asian Games this December.

The ban continues till March 2007, and if the IWF fails to pay the fine, it will be extended by another year.

In that case, India's lifters will also miss the qualifiers for the Beijing Olympics.

The Federation says it hasn't decided yet on whether it will pay the fine. This is the second ban for the IWF in two years.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Link

Indian Weightlifters Can Take Part in Beijing Olympics

NEW DELHI: India's weightlifters have been banned from international competitions till March next year for dope offences, forcing them out of the Asian Games in December, an Indian official said on Saturday.

The year-long suspension allayed Indian fears that the team could also be banned from the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

The year-long ban, effective from March 2006 when the Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, was communicated to Indian officials by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) this week.

"I can confirm that the IWF have banned us for a year because four of our lifters tested positive this year," Indian weightlifting official H J Dora said here.

"The ban will be effective since the Commonwealth Games because that was the period when the lifters tested positive."

Two male lifters Edwin Raju and Tejinder Singh tested positive during the Games, while two women, Prameelavalli Bodari and Shailaja Pujari, failed pre-Games tests and were banned by India from making the trip to Australia.

All four have already been banned for life by the Indian weightlifting federation. The IWF had announced India's suspension in March but waited till this week to determine the length of the ban.

The Asian Games will be held in Doha from December 1-15.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

How can this be? A one year suspension and allowed to lift in the Olympic Games? I thought it was supposed to be two-years? Why the leniency? Do they deserve it? This is a lot of positives in a row, two times in a row? And, is it my imagination, or did the fine increase? Is the suspension negotiable depending on the fine?

Where is the beef?

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Link

Indian Weightlifting Federation Fined and Suspended
 
NEW DELHI: India’s weightlifters will miss the Asian Games later this year after their federation was given a one-year ban and fined $50,000 for doping violations, an official said yesterday.

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) had suspended India’s federation for an unspecified period in March after four lifters tested positive within the space of a year.

The ban, which is the second in two years, would run until March next year, federation secretary Balbir Bhatia said.

“We received a letter from the international federation recently,” he said. “We’re taking up the issue of the fine with them because the federation was not at fault.” The federation would be suspended for an additional year if it failed to pay the fine, he added.

The suspension means the country’s lifting team will miss the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar in December.

The Indian federation was banned for one year in August 2004 after two female lifters, Pratima Kumari and Sanamacha Chanu, tested positive at the Athens Olympics.

Two male lifters, Edwin Raju and Tajinder Singh, tested positive at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games this year after female lifter Shailaja Pujari had been dropped from the squad following tests conducted by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Another female lifter, Boradi Prameelavalli, was identified by the federation as the fourth to test positive, all for the banned anabolic steroid Stanozolol.

(Reuters)

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Link

Doping Inquiry Panel Stonewalled, Give Up
By Manish Kumar

NEW DELHI: If it wasn’t bad enough that India has been consistently embarrassed by doping scandals at international events, the lack of will to find a solution is even more shameful. The two-member inquiry committee probing the 2006 Commonwealth Games twin scandal has informed the Indian Weightlifting Federation that they cannot do justice to the responsibility they have been given due to “lack of co-operation” from various agencies including the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

AK Mattoo, the head of the inquiry committee and a veteran sports administrator, had written a letter to the IWF, which is in DNA’s possession, informing the federation that it was impossible to conduct the inquiry in the face of opposition from the leading agencies. Veteran journalist Ramu Sharma was the other member on the inquiry panel.

DNA’s investigation revealed that Mattoo’s inquiry committee faced strong resistance from various quarters which included a senior official of the IWF, SAI doctors who were part of the preparation camp for the Commonwealth Games at the NIS training centre in Patiala and doctors and officials of the Anti-Doping lab in Delhi.

DNA came across several letters that were sent by the inquiry committee to SAI asking them to request the doctors and officials accompanying the lifters to report for the inquiry.

Here’s how events unfolded.

Mattoo wanted to launch a scientific inquiry to find out what had been going on in the NIS preparation camp, from the first day till the lifting squad’s departure for Melbourne. It was essential to find out the types of dietary supplements which were given to the lifters, whether these imported supplements were tested by the SAI lab, the number of tests carried out by SAI’s anti-dope lab for the entire camp period, to identify the doctors and officials with the lifting team. None of these officials cooperated with the inquiry committee, who had to be satisfied with interacting with only national coaches and national lifters who also included Raju and Tejinder.

The IWF also failed to ensure that the doctors and SAI officials complied with the summons from the inquiry committee. DNA asked Mattoo if he had reported these problems to IWF and he replied in the affirmative. He said he was disgusted with the callous attitude of various agencies and then he, along with his colleague in the inquiry panel, decided to inform the IWF president HJ Dora that they were not in a position to complete the inquiry.

Mattoo said: “Because of the lack of information and access to the concerned officials and doctors, there was hardly anything for me to do. I was not able to do justice to the inquiry due to the lack of cooperation from various agencies. So, I wrote to IWF that we cannot conduct it.”