Athletes should stay and train in camps: AFI chief
NEW DELHI: Nine months after Neeraj Chopra sent Indian athletics soaring at the Tokyo Olympics with its first ever gold, the sport has once again been hit hard with high-profile athletes caught in the doping net. After javelin thrower Shivpal Singh tested positive in a National Anti-doping Agency test last year, Kamalpreet Kaur is the latest to flunk a dope test conducted by Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU). Both athletes, who competed at the Tokyo Olympics, are now provisionally suspended and left to either prove innocence or face bans.
In a year when expectations were high from the track and field athletes with major events like Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and World Championships lined up, the twin doping cases are a big setback.
Kaur, especially, was tipped as a strong prospect this season, after her stellar performance at in Tokyo, where she finished sixth with a throw of 63.7m. In the Olympic year, she twice broke the national record (66.59m). Anti-doping watchdog AIU, an independent body of World Athletics, included her in their international testing pool, in which Chopra is the only other Indian athlete.
Athletics Federation of India (AFI) president Adille Sumariwalla said the federation is trying hard to stop the menace. “It is very disappointing when an athlete who we are banking on as an Olympic prospect tests positive. That is why we want our athletes to stay and train in the camp so that they can be monitored by the agencies. We have asked NADA to increase tests,” he said.
An AFI official said Kaur has been reluctant to join national camps since last year. “It was very difficult to get her to train at the national camp. Even before Tokyo, she wanted to train on her own with a personal coach and joined the camp later. Why won’t an athlete train at a national camp where you have better coaching facilities?” the official asked.
Shivpal also returned positive in an out-of-competition test in October last year, when he was not in the national camp. It is not only the big names but promising talent like Delhi’s Taranjeet Kaur, who won 100m gold at the National Open Championships, who were caught in the dope net.
Athletics contributes majorly to India’s doping numbers. According to the 2019 World Anti-doping Agency report, India (152) was third in the list after Russia (167) and Italy (157) in Anti-doping Rule Violations.