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NADA hearing postponed, Grapplers stay hopeful
On Thursday, members of the Indian wrestling team were on the way to Sonepat. The camp for the Asian Games begins on Friday, but there were lingering questions over three members of the squad; among the men there are Mausam Khatri and Rajiv Tomar, while Gursharanpreet Kaur was on the women's side.
On Thursday, members of the Indian wrestling team were on the way to Sonepat. The camp for the Asian Games begins on Friday, but there were lingering questions over three members of the squad; among the men there are Mausam Khatri and Rajiv Tomar, while Gursharanpreet Kaur was on the women's side.
The questions were on whether or not these athletes would be cleared to represent India at the Guangzhou Games, after they tested positive for the banned stimulant, methylexaneamine, just before the Commonwealth Games.
The three were removed from the CWG squad, but were cleared by the National Anti-Doping Authority after the world body moved the stimulant from its non-specified to specified category. The final decision was to be taken on Thursday, but the hearing has been postponed to November 3.
Twelve athletes had tested positive for MHA in these tests, but after the NADA clearance, swimmers Richa Misra and Jyotsana Pansare, and shot-putter Saurabh Vij were all part of the CWG squad.
Given these facts, the Wrestling Federation of India seemed confident that the three wrestlers in question would indeed travel to Guangzhou. A coach with the team said, "We are pretty sure that Mausam, Rajiv and Gursharan will be in the squad. The substance is only banned in competition, and since the NADA panel adjudged the tests were not conducted in-competition, there should be no problem."
The team
Freestyle Men: V.Kumar 55kg, Y.Dutt 60 kg, P.Kumar 66 kg, N.Yadav 74 kg, R.Vir 84 kg,M.Khatri 96 kg, R.Tomar 120 kg.
Greco-Roman Men: R.Kumar 55 kg, R.Singh 60kg, S.Kumar 66kg, Sanjay 74 kg, M.Kumar 84 kg, A.Kumar 96 kg, D.Dalal 120 kg; Women: N.Devi 48 kg, Geeta 55 kg, S.Kundu 63 kg, G. Kaur 72 kg.
