Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Four wrestlers who would have competed in the
Commonwealth Games have tested positive for a banned substance,and the embarrassment is compounded by the fact that one of them,Rajiv Tomar,received an Arjuna Award last month. As things stand they are out of the Games,and in a hurried reaction on Thursday,the Wrestling Federation of India named their replacements to meet the deadline for entering participants. While these wrestlers have the option to appeal their suspension,the incident follows on another relating to doping. Just recently,the Indian Olympic Association assisted the Weightlifting Federation with an interest-free loan,so it could pay a 500,000 fine imposed last year and avoid a ban after Indian weightlifters failed to clear dope tests.
Doping is an infringement that implicates individual athletes and the sport administration. Administrators and coaches are not just supposed to provide the mentoring athletes require to be made aware of the consequences that follow from testing positive and of the variety of ways needed to be on guard. They also oversee a regimen of tests to keep their sport out of opprobriums way. Confirmation of performance-enhancing drugs sets back disciplines by years. The sprints are still recovering from a series of confirmations about star athletes,and one of the first questions Usain Bolt was asked after setting a 100 m world record was whether he was clean.
Disciplines like wrestling have been under a cloud of suspicion about doping for a long time. For Indian wrestlers to be implicated,however,is particularly sad. It was hoped that Sushil Kumar,surprise winner of a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics,would draw one of this countrys earthiest sports into another orbit. His co-competitors misstep has not helped the cause.
