Doping: Needle points towards India
VIOLATION Indians called for hearing after admitting to getting syringes in Village
(have) not taken anything,” Santiago Nieva told the Seven Network. “We had one boxer who didn’t feel very well and doctor has given him an injection.”
At the very least, Nieva’s comment puts in poor light Indian Olympic Association (IOA) officials who failed to educate athletes and support staff about antidoping protocols at the Games.
“The Commonwealth Games Federation’s Medical Commission has concluded its investigation into an alleged violation of the CGF’S No needle Policy. Their findings have been escalated to the CGF’S Federation Court which will conduct a hearing into the matter,” the CGF said in a statement on Monday night.
The hearing will take place on Tuesday morning 10am local time and the court’s decision will be communicated after the hearing, the CGF added.
The CGF also clarified that “this matter is not defined as an anti-doping violation but rather as an infringement of the CGF’S ‘no-needle policy,’ which has been introduced by major events organisers to ensure best medical practices.” So there is no specific sanction mentioned for violation of the policy.
Earlier, the CGF and the local organising committee officials held a meeting to resolve the matter on Monday afternoon, when they decided to bring in the Commonwealth Games Federation Court. CGF CEO David Grevemberg said sanctions would be in order depending on the explanations put forth.
“The report (of the medical commission) 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.”
Games organising committee chairman Peter Beattie had insisted that the matter would be dealt with transparently.
The allegations continued to be a cause of embarrassment for the Indian contingent on Monday as they were officially welcomed by the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games organising committee to the Games village.
Indian athletes have had a chequered past on doping violations. In 2010, shot putter Saurabh Vij got a two-year ban for testing positive but National Anti-doping Agency cleared him within weeks and he was allowed to participate in the Delhi CWG. In 2011, three CWG and Asian Games 4x400m gold medallists Mandeep Kaur, Sini Jose, Ashwini Akkunji were banned for a year for testing positive.
Over the years, Indian athletes have seldom been able to match their domestic show abroad and that has raised questions on its anti-doping policy. IOA officials were not available for
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