CHENNAI: In what could turn out to be an embarrassing moment for Indian athletics, a top javelin thrower of the country had apparently failed a dope test last year. The thrower, who was part of the national camp until last year, was dropped from camp this year.
Though SAI extended the national camp to March 31 recently, surprisingly, the name of the thrower was missing from the list. Other throwers Rohit Yadav, Sahil Silwal, Yashvir Singh, Arshdeep Singh and Abhishek Drall are part of the camp.
Javelin throw has been one of the most followed sports in the country after Neeraj Chopra won the gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The champion thrower is right now training at Chula Vista in the US.
It is understood that the thrower had failed a dope test during an out-of-competition sample collection last year and has been provisionally suspended. Though the substance could not be ascertained, there are indications that the drug could be a concoction of four or five banned substances.
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI), however, did not want to say anything on the topic due to procedural issues. It is understood that the doping offence could be before the Olympics but some say it was during the break after the Olympics. The javelin thrower could be one of the high profile athletes who participated at the Games in Tokyo.
A provisional suspension is slapped on an athlete for possible Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) and will be enforced until the outcome of a hearing and subsequent sanction. Testing the B Sample would be the next step.
The samples were sent abroad for testing as the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) was suspended last year and that was the reason for the delay in getting the results. However, the NDTL has got its recognition back in the later part of December and is set to test samples.
The National Anti-Doping Agency that collects samples and declares results of doping offences in the country is quiet. In fact, of late, there have been no updates on its website. Even routine information isn't coming out of the agency.