Lifter Monica Devi fails dope test

Weightlifter Monica Devi was today withdrawn from the Indian squad for Beijing Olympic Games hours before she was to board the flight to the Chinese capital for failing a dope test.Special: Beijing Olympics 2008

Weightlifter Monica Devi was on Tuesday withdrawn from the Indian squad for Beijing Olympic Games hours before she was to board the flight to the Chinese capital for failing a dope test hours, sources said.

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Monica tested positive for anabolic salt in a test conducted on June 29, the sources said.

Monica (69kg), who comes from Manipur, was the sole lifter from India to have been selected for the Beijing Games.

In the pre-Olymic trial conducted by Indian Weightlifting Federation in July this year, P Sailja of Andhra Pradesh had performed better than Monica but the latter was chosen ahead of her for the Beijing Games.

However, earlier in April this year, Monica had done better in the Asian Championship in Japan.