Hammer thrower Dagar suspended

Former National champion hammer thrower Harvinder Singh Dagar has been suspended for two years for an anti-doping rule violation.

Dagar, who won the Federation Cup title at Patiala last April with a personal best 67.01m, had tested positive for a combination of stanozolol and methandienone, both steroids, in that competition.

Dagar, who hails from Samandpur, Uttar Pradesh, and represents the ONGC, recently told a hearing panel headed by R.S. Chauhan that he had taken some supplements and ginseng. He said he had taken the same supplements before the inter-State championships in Bangalore last year also, but had not tested positive.

The 21-year-old hammer thrower had won the title in Bangalore on that occasion, apart from having won the titles at the Open National and inter-University championships last year. Dagar’s suspension will run from his provisional suspension date of May 15 last. In three other cases, athlete Sachin Kumar and wrestler Sombir were suspended for two years, while weightlifter Taranbir Singh was given a six-month suspension. For the first time since methylhexaneamine (MHA) has been banned, an athlete has come up with a “prescription” for an MHA tablet!

Wrestler Sombir, who tested positive for stimulants mephentermine and MHA at the all-India Police championships here last March, told the panel that he had been prescribed injection mephentermine, tablet mephentermine and tablet methylhexaneamine for low blood pressure and “cough and cold with sweat” at a community health centre. The claim about methylhexaneamine tablet was made in an additional written submission this month after he had initially submitted a list of other medicines.

The panel noted in its order: “This prescription appears to be fake in as much as there was no disclosure about this prescription earlier. The medicines prescribed are not on the list of government approved medicines which can be prescribed by a government doctor. These medicines are not available in the market in the form as prescribed. Further, if the athlete had taken these substances for four weeks after February 3, 2012, they would not have appeared in the samples taken on March 3, 2012.”

Sombir was suspended for two years from his provisional suspension date of April 19 last.

Quarter-miler Sachin of Haryana, who won the 400m title in the Federation Cup junior championships in Pune last May, had tested positive for testosterone. He took the plea of supplements including a few ayurvedic products. He said he was not asked to disclose what he had been consuming prior to sample collection.

His plea was, however, dismissed. His suspension will commence from his provisional suspension date of June 21 last.

Punjab weightlifter Taranbir tested positive for methylprednisolone, a glucocorticosteroid, at the all-India Police championships here last March. He produced prescription to show that he had been prescribed a medicine for an injury and that contained the banned drug.

The drug being a ‘specified substance’, and the panel being convinced that he did not take it to enhance his performance, Taranbir was given a six-month suspension from Sept. 10.