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Efforts on to send Monika to Beijing

K.P. Mohan

The Indian federation has pointed out procedural irregularities to rule in favour of Monika
Monika just cannot take part in the Olympics, says Baljit Singh Sethi

NEW DELHI: Despite the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) stating that it was too late to enter weightlifter Monika Devi in the Olympic Games, efforts were continuing on Saturday to facilitate her departure for Beijing.

PTI quoted Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Secretary-General, Randhir Singh, in Beijing, as saying: “It is too late for Monika to come to Beijing now and take part in the Olympic Games because we have closed the entry process.”

The Manipur lifter, who was chosen as the lone Indian entry in weightlifting (69kg category), was charged with a doping offence hours before her departure for Beijing last Tuesday.

Since then, the lifter as well as the Indian Weightlifting Federation had been having consultations with officials of the IOA to enable her participation in the Games.

Notwithstanding the assertion of the IOA President, Suresh Kalmadi, in Beijing on Saturday, that there was no attempt to re-enter Monika in the weightlifting competition, the Indian federation had made attempts to get her re-entry.

The IOA had withdrawn her name from the competition following a communication from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) that the lifter had tested positive and Kalmadi even went to the extent of praising SAI for having nailed the offender at home itself, thus saving further embarrassment for the country in the Olympics.

Exonerated

The federation, which had accused “sabotage” of the whole procedure, which it termed as “irregular,” is learnt to have formed a review committee that has effectively exonerated Monika.

Whether the federation panel had an expert in endocrinology to understand the implications of the test results (as required under WADA rules) could not be verified since it chose to remain silent on Saturday.

The federation secretary, Sq. Ldr B.R. Gulati (Retd.) refused to comment beyond saying “we are trying; there is no update.”

It is debatable what stand the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) would have taken in this matter had the lifter been entered again. The NDTL is not an accredited laboratory and normally international agencies are wary of results reported from such labs, though in this case the NDTL is under accreditation process of WADA.

The Union Sports Minister, M.S. Gill, who only the other day talked about “zero tolerance” towards doping, is in Beijing. His Ministry was not in a position to intervene directly on Saturday since there was no funding from the Government to send competitors to Beijing.

The Indian federation has pointed out procedural irregularities to rule in favour of Monika. She had tested positive for a sample taken on June 6 for an “endogenous steroid” which was found to be of exogenous origin after an Isotope Ratio Measurement Spectrometry (IRMS) analysis.

A ‘longitudinal’ study was conducted on three of her samples, taken on June 29, July 15 and July 28 which also proved the assertion of the NDTL that there has been an “adverse analytical finding.”

Apparently many people have got confused with the results obtained in the three tests from June 29 onwards, since these were ’negative’. The presence of an endogenous steroid (say testosterone above the allowable limit of testosterone-epitestosterone ratio of 4:1) has to be determined in relation to the original finding (June 6) and the ‘longitudinal study’ cannot be concluded by just looking at the ‘negative’ obtained in latter tests.

It can only be assumed that the June 6 test, even though confirmed through IRMS that a substance was administered from outside, must have been inconclusive in some aspect thus leading to a ‘longitudinal’ analysis.

If that was the case, the NDTL was within its rights to conduct the ‘longitudinal study,’ (possibly at the request of the Sports Authority of India) and it was not duty bound to provide the result of the June 6 test till such time it had conclusive evidence to prove a doping violation.

Many arguments have been put forward during the past three days about the delay in reporting the test result, Monika having been taken into confidence about the first “positive” and the necessity or otherwise of an athlete having to be informed about a ‘longitudinal study.’

The WADA rules state that tests under a ‘longitudinal study’ would be unannounced. Yet, there would be no bar on comparing results from a previous test or a later test that could have been part of a routine out-of-competition control.

PTI reports from Beijing:

Asked if Kalmadi could do anything to help Monika take part in the 69kg weight category competition Randhir said it was not possible at this level.

Deputy Chef de Mission of Indian contingent Baljit Singh Sethi said, “Monika just cannot take part in the Olympics. As of now, the organisers have not accepted her entry and to be honest I don’t see her competing here,” Sethi added.

Asked to confirm if Monika was indeed coming here, Sethi said, “Her name has been withdrawn ....She will not be allowed to enter the Olympic village.” He said that the draw of contestants (69kg category) has been drawn up and Monika’s name did not figure in it.

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