Pratima Kumari, who became the first athlete to be tested positive for a banned substance during an Olympic Games, does not have quite a clean record. Though she was considered a medal prospect Pratima has always been under a cloud of suspision.Other than testing positive during a national meet, her show at Hyderabad during the National Games too was suspect where she failed. Despite being a firm favourite to win the gold she failed to record any legal lift and went home medalless.The credentials of her coaches too are questionable. She has been a protege of current national coach Pal Singh Sandhu, who too has a dope past. When Chanu was picked over the more seasoned lifter Kunjarani Devi for the Sydney Games in 2000 eyebrows were raised. There were whispers that the reason she made it to Sydney was due to the fact that she was ‘Sandhu’s pet pupil’. The 28-year-old Bokaro lifter had also trained under SAI coach Hansa Sharma at Allabahad since she was a junior. Hansa was suspended after Kunjarani tested positive in the Asian Championship in China two years ago.Pratima’s biggest sporting high was her show at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. She bagged two gold (clean and jerk) and a silver (snatch) in a stunning display with a total lift of 205kg in the 63 kg class.
