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Dope fiasco exposes hypocricy of Indian officials
The positive drug tests returned by Indian lifters Pratima Kumari and Sanamacha Chanu have raised questions on the role the foreign coaches play in preparing the athletes.
The positive drug tests returned by Indian lifters Pratima Kumari and Sanamacha Chanu have not only thrown Indian sport into a fresh turmoil but also raised questions on the role the foreign coaches play in preparing the athletes.
The shocking doping scandal has also exposed the Indian Olympic Associaton officials to some extent as they tried to keep the entire episode under wraps as far as possible, giving contradictory explanations for Pratima's absence from the start list.
It is now clear that Indian contingent officials were aware of Pratima's positive test well in advance and had no option but to pull her out from the 63-kg category but they tried to hide the development from the media, citing a back injury for her withdrawal.
Pratima, a double gold medallist in the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, had already left for India when her event took place on August 18 but even that was kept a secret with the officials insisting that she suffered a back injury two days before the event and had to be withdrawn.
The officials were forced to reveal the facts after the International Weightlifting Federation announced Pratima's name among five lifters who had tested positive in an out-of-competition doping control programme.
Even though the annoucement was made in the morning, it took a long time for the Indian officials to confirm the development. Repeated calls on their mobiles went unanswered.
Sharma said the media was kept in the dark about the development because as per the IOC's charter such confidential reports could not be disclosed till the sample 'B' also tested positive.
But Sharma was stumped for an anwser when asked how the IWF could announced the name since Pratima's B sample has not yet been tested.
Even before one could come to terms with Pratima's positive test, it was revealed that another Indian lifter Sanamacha Chanu, who competed in the 53 kg category, had also failed a dope test.
With the can of worms spilled, the Indian officials were far more forthcoming with the details.
Chanu tested positive for furosemide, a weight-losing diuretic, with the doping test being done after her event. She was summoned by the IOC's Anti-Doping Commission and was told about her offence in the evening. She subsequently left for India in the night.
As a damage control excercise, the IOA President Suresh Kalmadi today formed a two-member committee headed by K P Singh Deo to probe the doping scandal and also suggest stringent measures, including a life ban, on those athletes, officials and coaches involved in doping.
The IOA maintains that all the lifters had undegone a test in Minz, Belarus, and the SAI laboratory in New Delhi just a few weeks before the Games and were found to be clean.
If that is to be believed, then the logical explanation is that they took recourse to performance-enhancing drugs only a few days ahead of their events, hoping to hide the offence through masking agents.
While it is for the respective federations to ensure that their athletes are dope-free, the IOA cannot wash its hands off it and blame just the Indian Weightlifting Federation for the scandal.
It is not unusual in Indian sport that federations try to pass on the buck but the blame game will not in any way cleanse the sport or restore India's image in the Olympic arena where they already have a dismal track record.
Asked the reasons for the dismal showing of the Indian women weightlifters, chief coach Pal Singh Sandhu passed the buck, saying, "you better ask the foreign coach Leonid Taranenko. He is in charge of the overall training programme".
There is an apparent rift in the WFI over the training methods employed by the foreign coach, raising speculation that doping was part of a controlled programme.
The IWF has repeatedly warned India not to employ coaches from countries which have a history of producing dope-tainted athletes and IWF Chief Tamas Ajan issued a fresh warning yesterday in the light of the positive dope tests. It is now upto the Indian body whether to heed to his advice or carry on with the same coach.
