Clean Sports India demands accountability

Clean Sports India (CSI) has demanded that the federations in wrestling, athletics and swimming be made accountable for the rash of doping cases that has tarnished the reputation of the country on the eve of the Commonwealth Games.

CSI President Pargat Singh said in a statement on Monday that it was a matter of great shame for the country that the wrestlers, swimmers and the athletes of the selected India squad for the Games had tested positive.

The CSI statement said this had come even as the country was still recovering from the doping scandals involving the weightlifters and the Indian Weightlifting Federation was being funded through public exchequer to pay off the fine imposed by the international federation.

“It is time the Government of India looked into the whole aspect of doping in Indian sports and took stringent action against the officials and coaches responsible for this mess,” it said.

Eleven sportspersons, seven of them chosen to represent India in the Games, have tested positive for the same stimulant (methylhexaneamine) in the past few days.

Not sufficient

B.V.P. Rao, National Convener of CSI, stated it was not sufficient to ban the sportsmen and women from the ensuing Commonwealth Games. “The real culprits are coaches and officials who are responsible for their training. Hence, the coaches and the federation officials must be held responsible,” he said.

Rao, a former equestrian competitor, said one of the main sources of the problem of drug abuse in India was the legacy of some of the countries whose training methods encouraged the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Many of these countries had themselves taken many corrective steps in this area in recent years, he noted.

The CSI release noted that eyebrows were raised when the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) decided to send some of India's elite athletes to Ukraine towards peaking for the CWG.

“What is more surprising is it is fully funded by the Government.”

A batch of 400m women runners are still in Ukraine for its second training stint till the end of this month.