The Sports Authority of India (SAI) on Thursday came down hard on coaches of National Institue of Sports (NIS) Patiala, suspending RS Sidhu and issuing notice to Ramesh Nagapuri.
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) on Thursday came down hard on coaches of National Institue of Sports (NIS) Patiala, suspending RS Sidhu and issuing notice to Ramesh Nagapuri. They were assistants to Ukranian coach Yuri Ogrodnik who was sacked after eight athletes tested positive for banned substances.
This was based on report submitted to SAI director general Desh Deepak Verma by executive director PS Kahsyap, who conducted a detailed inquiry at NIS.
Weightlifting coach Naveen Kumar and gymnastics coach Praveen Kumar were also removed, while resident doctor, M. Bhattacharya, was also issued notice.
The sports ministry has appointed Mukul Mudgal, retired chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, as a one-member committee to enquire into the doping scandal. He would be assisted by V. Jayaramaan, senior project manager of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), to submit his report within six weeks.
Two officials were removed on Wednesday-Sunita Bedi, caretaker of the girls' hostel, and Kalpana Debnath, warden of the Silver Jubilee Girls' Hostel.
Verma said from now on steps will be taken against the entire team. "Our employees will now be more pro-active to tackle the menace," he said.
Double Asian Games gold medallist Ashwini Akkunji, one of the eight athletes to fail the dope test, made substantial improvement in her Commonwealth Games timing to win the 400 meters hurdles gold at Guangzhou.
Before Commonwealth, the Indian team went for training to Ukraine. Now the Eastern European country's credibility as a training centre is being questioned.
Verma said it would be unfair to blame a particular country. "What we can do from now on is to thoroughly check the credentials of coaches before appointing them," he said.
Verma said that SAI has already prepared a detailed report on the doping scandal as ordered by Sports Minister Ajay Maken.
A sports ministry statement said the one-member committee will determine the circumstances leading to the incidents of alleged doping in athletics.
"It will also examine reasons for such large-scale prevalence of doping and modus operandi involved, including availability of the prohibited substances in and around training camps," it read.
Akkunji, pleading innocence laid the blame squarely on the food supplements recommended by Ogorodnik.
"I am innocent and have never failed a dope test before this. We only took the food supplements recommended by our coach and only after consuming the supplements, we have been tested positive," said Aswhini.
Ashiwni, along with Priyanka Pawar, appeared before NADA for her B sample test. She tested positive for banned anabolic steroid methandienone in NADA tests in Patiala on June 27.
"It's sad since I made many sacrifices during my career. I have never taken steroids in my entire career. It's not the first time that I have given the dope test. Whenever NADA or WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) had called me, I have given the tests," she said.
Ashwini said she was tested thrice during the Asian Games, where she won two gold medals, but never failed. "This thing has never happened before. We are totally innocent," she added.
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