As the 69kg gold was won in Beijing, Monika continued to demand ‘justice’

The camp has been Monika’s haven for the last week, keeping her away from prying cameras. The lifter has repeatedly insisted that she was “clean” and ready to leave at a moment’s notice. On Wednesday, though, the reality of missing out on the world’s biggest sporting spectacle finally sank in.

Earlier in the day, watching the men’s 77-kg event, Monika had broken down. Refusing to meet anyone from the media, she answered the phone very reluctantly. The lifter who had been belligerent, challenging her test reports and demanding a ticket to Beijing, was gone, replaced by a teary Monika who softly muttered: “I was supposed to be there. I had a right to be there.” And then she refused to say any more.

Unanswered questions

Several questions about Monika’s status still remain. While she has asked that her three later tests — all negative for anabolic steroids — be taken as the basis for her being dope-free, her critics say that the validity of those results was precisely the reason why the first test report — in which she tested positive — had to be correct as well.

“If she says her three later tests are correct, then why is she contesting the first one? And, if she is confident of her innocence, why did she not go for a B-sample test?” questioned a SAI official.

Returning from her 45-minute long meeting with the sports minister, Monika said: “The minister heard me out and has promised an enquiry, I am sure of coming out clean.” Her first reaction after the drug charge had been to allege that her 69-kg rival Shailaja Pujari had played a part in framing her. On being asked about her the reluctance to go for a B-sample test, she said her samples had been tampered with and she could not trust officials with her B sample.

Later in the day, MS Gill appointed former Chief Election Commissioner TS Krishnamurthy to inquire into all aspects of this matter and submit a report within a week. “I have discussed all aspects of this unfortunate incident, and have decided to appoint an immediate inquiry to go into all aspects of this matter immediately, so as to bring out the precise truth,” Gill said in a statement.

Is she really a drug offender, or a victim of the administration’s internal politics? The truth about Monika’s positive dope test and her withdrawal from the Olympics remains hidden as the authorities concerned are yet to come clean about the exact details of her case.

If she had indeed tested positive, then is missing the Games enough punishment? And if it turns out that she had been clean all along, then an apology will hardly make up for the Beijing miss.