Olympic prospect Sunaina tests positive

Even as our athletes are hoping to put their best foot forward in the Olympics 8212; just three months away in Athens 8212; comes the shoc...

Even as our athletes are hoping to put their best foot forward in the Olympics 8212; just three months away in Athens 8212; comes the shocking news of weightlifter Sunaina, a bright medal prospect, testing positive at the Asian Championships held at Almaty, Kazakhstan, last month.

The 24-year-old lifter, who won a bronze medal in 58 kg category at the Asian meet, will not only be stripped of her medal but also faces a two-year ban.

The organisers of the Asian meet conveyed the result of the dope test to Indian Weightlifting Federation8217;s secretary-general Balbir Singh Bhatia late in the night yesterday. Bhatia, who got in touch with Sunaina in Bangalore 8212; she is training with the campers at the SAI Centre, South 8212; has asked the lifter to report to IWF office here in Delhi today.

IWF president HS Dora while confirming the news to The Indian Express wondered how it could have happened. 8216;8216;We have been told about Sunaina testing positive but are baffled at the result. All the lifters were tested here before they left for the Asian championship. Sunaina was one of our leading contenders for the Olympics,8217;8217; he said.

Doping in Indian weightlifting is not a surprising news any longer. In fact, 75 cases were reported last year and three in international meets the year before. But what is surprising is the way the IWF has been dealing with the menace. Every time a doping offence came out, the lifter became the victim while the coaches attached to the national camp or the Indian teams have gone scot-free.

This time, too, like in several occasions in the past, Pal Singh Sandhu was the coach. Again, like in the past, IWF probably let him off while punishing the lifter. Whether or not Sunaina will ask for a 8216;B8217; test may be in the realm of conjecture, but one thing is very clear: the IWF will not dare act against coach Sandhu. Dora was categorical about it when he said he could not take action because there were not many coaches with the national campers. 8216;8216;We don8217;t have many coaches. What do we do?8217;8217;

Incidentally, when the IWF included Shailaja Poojari 8212; she is serving a two-year ban since April 2003 8212; in the camp, Dora gave the same defence. 8216;8216;Shailaja is among our top lifters and keeping her out of the camp for two years would affect her comeback8217;8217;.

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Shailaja tested positive for nandrolone, a banned steroid. The Sports Ministry has clearly stated that an athlete serving a ban could not be part of any national camp. But Shailaja spent one and a half months at NIS, Patiala, along with other campers enjoying all the comforts.

When Dora took over the reigns of IWF, he spelt out his priority: to curb the doping menace in lifting. But by allowing dope offenders like Shailaja, he is only encouraging the offenders and this is hardly the right signal.