The Hindu : Sport : Mounting list of dope offenders should worry AFI

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Mounting list of dope offenders should worry AFI

K.P. Mohan

NEW DELHI: Even as the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is confronted with the task of handling a few high profile cases of dope offenders, there comes the news that two more Services athletes had tested positive around six months ago.

Shot putter P.B. Giri, who had come second in the Madurai inter-State meet (17.73m) and who has been ranked No. 4 in the country for the current season, and the relatively lesser-known 400-metre runner, Rajesh Singh, had tested positive in out-of-competition tests conducted by the Army last May.

Under suspension

Both have been put under suspension by the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) and the AFI is expected to take up their cases as soon as the SSCB intimates it of the violations and its recommendation in writing.

Giri and Rajesh join a batch of four athletes against whom the SSCB has already initiated action.

They are: triple jumper Bibu Mathew, shot putter Jaiveer Singh and hammer throwers Mukesh Kumar and Yogesh. All four were reported for doping rule violations in the Services championships in Hyderabad last August.

The SSCB is still in the process of imposing sanctions against the four who have neither sought ‘B’ sample tests nor appeared before the hearing panel.

The mounting list of dope offenders should be a cause for worry to the AFI, especially with two of the most "talented" triple jumpers caught in the anti-doping net.

High profile case

The most high profile case in recent weeks has been that of triple jumper Renjith Maheswary.

The National record holder (17.04m) and Asian champion tested positive for stimulant ephedrine in the Open National in Kochi last September. He had won the title there with a jump of 15.91m.

Incidentally, Bibu Mathew had come second in Kochi.

The man to gain the gold, in case both Renjith and Mathew are disqualified, would be Amarjeet Singh.

Ephedrine being a ‘specified substance’, Renjith might get away with a mere warning, but it will have to be seen whether he can prove that he did not take the drug to enhance his performance.

Of interest would be the drugs he had listed in his doping form at the time of his urine sample collection not to mention the line of treatment he would have undergone for any ailment that would have necessitated the use of medicine containing ephedrine.

The maximum sanction for a ‘specified substance’, if the athlete’s plea could be sustained, is one-year suspension. For a second similar offence, the ban would be for two years and for a third violation it would be life ban.

Further trouble

Meanwhile, after more than one year of suspense, the AFI finally put an official ban of two years on Bharatha Reddy recently, but the Andhra athlete could be in for further trouble even before he finishes his suspension period in May next year.

He could be in for a life ban in case the charge against him for competing in the inter-University championships while being under provisional suspension is upheld and he is found guilty of a second offence. He won the silver in the 400 metres at Chidambaram last January.

Second charge

The second charge, following Reddy’s participation at Chidambaram, is being heard by a different panel.

In the same boat as Reddy is Kerala woman quarter-miler Jasmin Joseph. Caught in more than one anti-doping rule violation in 2007, Jasmin was serving a two-year ban when she competed in the university meet at Chidambaram in the 4x400m relay for Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam.

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