Sunita Rani’s lonely run

To start with, the Amateur Athletics Federation of India (AAFI) could have sent Sushil Salwan, the lawyer responsible for the probe, to meet Sunita in her native place in Sunam or some other place. Where was the need to ask her to come to the capital’s Nehru Stadium in full glare of the media? It is in the AAFI’s interest, after all, to defend her to keep its own image clean. If she blurts out the behind-the-scenes activities, the Russian empire of Indian doping will collapse.

Doping is nothing new in Indian sport. But ever since the Russians took over the reins of Indian sport, it has become rampant. The SAI has always ignored claims by the media and former athletes of doping in India and has supported the Russian coaches. No one knows the credentials of these coaches who found themselves jobless after the breakup of the Soviet Union. If they are so good, why have they been ignored by their own countries? And what have they achieved in India?

For long, the AAFI has been basking in the glory of athletes winning medals in the international arena. Wasn’t it aware of the happenings in their own backyard? Was it waiting for a Sunita to be caught? And what is it doing now as damage control? Sample collection procedures at Busan were indeed faulty and that perhaps is the only reprieve left for Sunita now. It is in the AAFI’s interest to prove it to the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) and hope for a pardon for the Indian runner.

Nowhere is an athlete called for the dope test, allowed to go to the toilet meant for the general public or mix with the coaches, doctors and media before a sample is collected. Even in the media room, dope control inspectors keep an lert eye on the athlete. In Busan, this was not the case.

It is not comprehensible why Jagdish Tytler, chef de mission of the Indian contingent, disowned the comments of the Indian team doctor Jawahar Lal Jain when he found faults in the working of the Busan lab. ‘‘He is saying this in his own capacity and I have nothing to do with him,’’ said Tytler. Jain had no option but to fall silent.

Such divergent views will not help anyone. Neither Sunita nor AAFI, SAI or even IOA. And if Sunita is not set free, all must share the responsibility.