International Weightlifting Federation president Tamas Ajan has said he had warned India many times in the past about employing coaches from countries which have a history of producing dope-tainted athletes.
He also said that the coaches of lifters testing positive should be punished and banned. That would help check the use of drugs by the athletes.
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) chief Dick Pound also blew the whistle on coaches and officials. He said they were involved in most doping cases.
Responding to the controversy, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) announced on Friday that it was setting up a two-member committee to probe the issue. It will comprise rowing federation chief K.P. Singh Deo and Dr Manmohan Singh, head of the IOA's medical commission.
IOA president Suresh Kalmadi said he was surprised and saddened by the events.
"They had been cleared by WADA and SAI (Sports Authority of India) labs. It is indeed strange... we will be probing the issue thoroughly and any coach or athlete found to be involved will be taken to task," Kalmadi said.
It remains to be seen whether these words have any meaning at all since every time an Indian athlete tests positive, the right noises are made, but the story remains the same.
{{/usCountry}}It remains to be seen whether these words have any meaning at all since every time an Indian athlete tests positive, the right noises are made, but the story remains the same.
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