The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has caught 21 weightlifters in five championships held recently for testing positive for banned substances.
All 21 athletes have been provisionally suspended. This could be termed as one of the biggest doping scandals in recent years.
The weightlifters tested positive across different championships – both out-of-competition and in-competition.
Out of the 21, 16 are from Delhi, Punjab and Haryana were caught at the National Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships, held in Yamunanagar in January, as revealed by Indian Weightlifting Federation secretary general Sahdev Yadav.
A total of 21 lifters have tested positive and have been provisionally suspended, pending the result of their ‘B’ sample tests. Their ‘B’ sample tests are awaited Weightlifting
– Sahdev Yadav
This can be called one of the biggest catches in recent times but one has to take into consideration that it includes competitions at Universities, Police Games, Railways, etc also.
If Found Guilty
In case their ‘B’ sample tests also comes out to be positive, the lifters are likely to face a four-year ban as per the new World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for first-time offenders.
Year-long Ban for Delhi, Punjab and Haryana
The IWF has also thought of imposing a year-long ban on the states of Delhi, Punjab and Haryana for returning highest number of dope cases off late.
The lifters from these states would not be able to take part in any competition till the end of ban.
According to the IWF rules, in case of two or more doping violations in a 12-month period in tests conducted by the IWF or NADA, a state federation could be suspended from participating in any activities of the IWF for a period of up to two years.
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