Team summoned to explain syringe find

THE fate of Indian Commonwealth Games team members hung in the balance last night as investigations into the discovery of suspect syringes in the Games Village deepened.

Games officials yesterday issued a please explain to an unnamed team after the syringes were found in a water bottle in the village, near the Indian team accommodation, at the weekend.

Initial investigations by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority revealed the syrin- ges breached the village’s “no needles” rules and further testing was underway to determine if they contained banned substances.

Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive David Grevemberg said a team which he refused to name had been “summoned” to appear before the CGF medical commission.

“Right now this is very much an ongoing investigation,” he told journalists.

“There has been a clear breach of the ‘no needle’ policy and a CGA (Commonwealth Games Association) has been summoned to meet with the medical commission as part of our investigation.

“The (medical commission) report will include the testimony of the concerned CGA and that will be put forward to our federation court for further deliberation to determine the appropriate sanction.”

The syringes have been linked to the Indian boxing team. Indian officials said a staffer found the syringes and turned them into the CGF medical commission.

Mr Grevemberg said it had not yet been determined whether the needles were for legitimate medical purposes such as insulin injections, but “the breach is actually bringing needles into the village”.

“There is a clear breach that these needles have been brought in and they were not supposed to be there,” he said.

Mr Grevemberg said the CGF was trying to conclude the investigation “as fast as possible” and results had been expected yesterday afternoon.

“I know everyone’s waiting, and so are we – we want this resolved as soon as possible,” he said. “Obviously, it’s in everyone’s interest to have this resolved before the opening ceremony.”

Games chairman Peter Beattie said the syringes scandal was “very unhelpful” in the lead-up to tomorrow night’s opening ceremony.

“There will be incidents that come up and the important thing to protect reputation and avoid overshadowing the opening night is to deal with them properly, quickly and succinctly,” he said. “There will be transparency and nothing will be covered up.”