The National Anti-Doping Appeal Panel (NADAP) has reduced the suspension of young swimmer Jyotsana Pansare from two years to one year. Jyotsana had tested positive for methylhexaneamine at the National championships at Jaipur in August, 2010.
The NADAP, headed by Justice (retd.) M.L. Varma, also set aside the disciplinary panel order regarding the disqualification of all of the swimmer’s results from sample collection date.
The decision of the NADAP, which also included former table tennis player Indu Puri and Dr. V.K. Sharma, will have far-reaching consequences as cases of 10 other athletes from various disciplines are also lined up before the same panel. All of them were handed a two-year suspension from the date of pronouncement of decision by the disciplinary panel in 2012 apart from annulment of the results.
The cases had dragged on for more than two years before the long-winding arguments of the defence and cross-examination of witnesses were completed.
Jyotsana’s lawyer Vidushpat Singhania’s argument that she had used face-packs and other cosmetic products containing geranium oil and root extract, which had, in turn, led to the MHA ‘positive’ was accepted by the panel.
It noted that the ‘warning’ given to judoka Nirupama Devi in another case for an MHA offence, and her arguments were similar to those made by Jyotsana.
The panel set aside the portion related to the annulment of results from the sample collection date, noting that the Maharashtra swimmer had been tested after 2010 also but had not turned in a ‘positive’ result.
Some of the other athletes who were suspended for MHA offences in the batch of 11 had competed in the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and the Asian Games in Guangzhou.
From among them, wrestler Mausam Khatri stands to benefit since he had won a bronze in the Asian Games. His incentive award was stopped by the ministry following the dope report.
The Dinesh Dayal-headed disciplinary panel had ordered that all the 11 sportspersons would lose all their results since the sample collection date, and they would forfeit “medals, points and prizes.”
