Honour put on hold,humiliation for Maheswary

“I have done nothing wrong,” Maheswary said after the meeting with the minister. “My award is being withheld as they seek clarification,” said the 2010 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist.

The minister said he swung into action as soon as he came to know of the incident,which was Saturday morning.

“Let me tell you that due diligence was followed with his application like others. But neither NADA nor the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) officials flagged this incident,” Singh told The Sunday Express. “In fact we all came to know about this in the morning. I immediately asked the secretary to act…we had no option but to act in this manner.”

The alleged violation occurred during the National Open Athletics Championships in 2008 — before the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) came into existence. At that time the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) used to conduct dope tests. A top AFI official admitted that Maheswary indeed flunked the dope test.

“Renjith failed a dope test in the 48th Nationals in the test conducted by the AFI. At that time the NDTL was not WADA accredited and we took the sample and sent it to the SAI laboratory. He was found to have used the stimulant ephedrine,” a top AFI official said.

However,he added that since the current AFI officials weren’t aware of such a suspension,they cleared his name for the award.

But Maheswary called it conspiracy. “As I was not banned there is no ground to call me a dope cheat. Since then I have participated in International meets and won medals,including at the Commonwealth Games.

“It’s a conspiracy against me. My wife and parents had come all the way to Delhi for this day. I have been humiliated. If they wanted to withhold the award,they shouldn’t have recommended my name in the first place,” the national record holder said.

Sports secretary PK Deb,who will be looking into the matter,had sympathy for the athlete. “What happened today was tragic. He is shattered,” he told the media. “The issue is what happened after the AFI set up the inquiry panel. Whether he is guilty or not has to be found out,and it will decide his award. I hope that he is not found guilty,” Deb added.

For his part,AFI chief Adille Sumariwalla said: “We have to go back to the files of 2008 to check on what grounds Renjith was suspended.”

Sodhi feels vindicated

Meanwhile,Ronjan Sodhi broke his silence on the Khel Ratna awards controversy after receiving the honour from the President. Shot putter Krishna Poonia had questioned the shooter’s nomination and had petitioned the minister in this regard.

“Everybody criticised my performance after the Olympics but I got over all that and beat the medallists in two months time. If I can forget all that and move on this controversy is nothing for me. There is the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games next year,those who missed out,can once again prove themselves. I missed out three years in a row and I kept proving myself with results,” said the double trap ace who is heading to Italy for a ten-day training schedule before the World Championships in Peru later this month.