Finally, lifting coaches get the sack

In a move that could send positive signals when they are most needed, the Sports Ministry today sacked national weightlifting coach Pal Sing...

In a move that could send positive signals when they are most needed, the Sports Ministry today sacked national weightlifting coach Pal Singh Sandhu and foreign coach Leonid Taranenko over the doping cases in Athens. And it is likely to strip Sandhu of his Dronacharya award, a first-ever decision.

The ministry believes that the only way to fight doping in Indian sports, particularly among weightlifters, would be to punish people at the top rather than just the athletes themselves. It8217;s also the proposal made by Dick Pound, chief of the World Anti-Doping Agency WADA.

Today8217;s decision, to sack the two coaches in the wake of the positive tests of Pratima Kumari and Sanamacha Chanu, was prompted by the fact that the scandal had robbed much of the gloss off the silver won two days previously by Major Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.

8216;8216;The government has terminated the contracts of foreign coach Leonid Taranenko engaged for the weightlifters and national coach Pal Singh Sandhu with immediate effect,8217;8217; said the terse press note issued by Dutt8217;s office.

While Sandhu has been coach since the 1980s, Taranenko was re-appointed as coach by the Weightlifting Federation of India in January this year after having been associated in the training of Indian women lifters, notably Sydney Games bronze winner Karnam Malleswari, four years ago.

nbsp;	I8217;m innocent: Sandhu

		nbsp;	8226; I plead innocence. I had no role to play in the doping scandal. The government should have waited till my return from the Olympics before taking this drastic decision. The lifters used to go to their personal advisors during the Games. It is their personal advisors who have done this and have tarnished the image of the coaches. All I want to ask is why did these two girls test negative in Minsk, Belarus and in SAI laboratories before the Games. How is that the lifters tested positive in Athens in such a short span of time? PTI	nbsp;

Pratima, who was not allowed to compete in her event in Athens following the positive test, has since accused both the coaches of conspiring against her. She said they were present when a Belarussian doctor administered her spinal injections during a training stint in minsk in June-July when she complained of a backache.

The move to strip Sandhu of the Dronacharya award 8212; the country8217;s highest coaching award 8212; seems to have found overwhelming support among ministry personnel, and even Sports Minister Sunil Dutt is said to be in favour.

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The Sports Authority of India8217;s Teams Wing has recommended a full-scale enquiry; that report, say sources, will decide the Dronacharya issue.

	FIVE DOPE CASES IN SANDHU8217;S TENURE

			8226; 1990: Auckland Commonwealth Games: Subroto Pal No coach was victimised 8226; 2002: Manchester Commonwealth Games: Sateesha Rai and Krishnan Madasamy Junior SAI official Manilal was suspended 8226; 2002: Asian Weightlifting Championship in China: N Kunjarani Devi SAI coach Hansa Sharma suspended 8226; 2004: Asian Weightlifting Championship in Kazakhstan: Sunaina S C Goel suspended 8226; 2004: Athens Olympics: Pratima Kumari and Sanamacha Chanu National coach Pal Singh Sandhu and foreign coach L Taranenko suspended

Meanwhile, there is a strong opinion that the government funding of Weightlifting Federation of India WFI programme be stopped forthwith. In any case, the WFI is facing a two-year ban from the international body after having returned three positive cases in a calendar year, as reported in this paper.

For the record, Pratima Kumari 63kg tested positive for an anabolic steroid testosterone in a pre-Olympic anti-dope drive by the International Weightlifting Federation. Chanu 53kg tested positive for a diuretic after taking part in her event. Both lifters were thrown out of the Games and have since returned home.

Meanwhile, ministry secretary Meenakshi Chowdhary has asked SAI authorities to submit a report on the episode, especially into how and why the two lifters returned positive while they were cleared by the SAI lab.