CWG gold-medallist weightlifter Sanjita Chanu in doping trouble

NEW DELHI: Indian weightlifting was hit by a fresh doping row after the International Weightlifting Federation said on its website that K Sanjita Chanu, the women’s 53kg gold medallist at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April, had tested positive for testosterone, an anabolic steroid.

It wasn’t clear which competition the test had been carried out in, although Sahdev Yadav, general secretary of the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF), said a top lifter had failed a dope test conducted during the World Championships held in the United States from November 28 to December 1.

He did not reveal the lifter’s name.

Chanu finished 13th in the 53kg division in the competition.

Chanu, 24, has been provisionally suspended by the world body, and faces a four-year ban if proved guilty when the process is completed.

That would also mean being stripped of the medal she won in the Commonwealth Games.

Repeated phone calls to Chanu did not elicit a response.

“IWF reports that the sample

of Ms Sanjita Chanu Khumukcham (IND) has returned an Adverse Analytical Finding for testosterone (S1.1 Anabolic Agents),” the IWF statement said. “As a consequence, the athlete is provisionally suspended in view of a potential anti-doping rule violation,” the IWF statement said.

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