Sprinter Suresh Sathya who was in the Indian team at the Guangzhou Asian Games, has tested positive for steroid nandrolone.
In an out-of-competition test conducted by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) prior to the team's departure, the 23-year-old Tamil Nadu sprinter returned a ‘positive' that should have been conveyed to the Indian contingent at Guangzhou, during the Games, but was not for inexplicable reasons.
Sathya won a 200m heat in Guangzhou in a personal best 21.02s on November 24, finished sixth in the final in 21.07 the next day and was part of the 4x100m relay team that clocked 39.10s for its fourth place on November 26, missing the bronze by one-hundredth of a second.
If the charge is proved, after the NADA goes through due process including ‘B' sample testing, and he is indicted by the hearing panel, all the results of Sathya including those in the relays, from the sample collection date, would be annulled, apart from a two-year suspension being imposed on him.
‘Whereabouts' sought
Meanwhile, taking note of the outstanding results achieved by the Indian athletes at the Guangzhou Games, the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) has, expectedly, sought ‘whereabouts' information of more than half a dozen Indian athletes including medal-winners in the Asian Games for the next season.
