Not the first Indian to benefit from ‘retrospective testing’

NEW DELHI: The World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) “legacy testing” or “retrospective testing” procedure ensures clean athletes get justice, even if it comes late.

Yogeshwar Dutt’s bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics is likely to be upgraded to silver after Russia’s Besik Kudukhov, who finished second in the 60kg freestyle wrestling category, tested positive during reanalysis.

This is not the first time an Indian has benefitted from “retrospective testing”. Under revised norms, samples are stored for up to 10 years to allow the use of advanced tests to weed out dope cheats. In 2014, after a wait of nine years, long jumper Anju Bobby George’s silver at the 2005 World Athletics finals in Monte Carlo was upgraded to gold after Tatyana Kotova of Russia, was disqualified for doping.

In 2013, Anju had moved up a place to fourth in long jump at the 2005 Helsinki World Championships where Kotova lost her silver after she returned positive in re-tests conducted by the International Amateur Athletics Federation. “It should have happened long back,” she said. “I could have won medals at the Olympic Games as well, but Russian athletes, who later failed dope tests, denied me each time.”

Despite giving her best, Anju, winner of bronze at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, trailed the Russian jumpers.

“It was discouraging, I kept on working hard. I was more talented than those athletes. I used to give 200 percent on the field but still was either fourth or fifth,” she said.

From 2003, Anju was ranked among the top six women long jumpers in the world.

“There were three Russians ahead of me. Had those athletes been caught then, I would have claimed medals in all the global events including the 2004 Athens Olympics.”

Anju has a point. With WADA and the IOC imposing a ban on Russian athletes in Rio following revelations of widespread doping in the country, we can imagine how it would have been 12 years back when anti-doping rules were less stringent.

I could have won at the Olympics as well, but Russian athletes who later failed dope tests denied me each time ANJU BOBBY GEORGE, ex-long jumper