Punjab, Haryana lifting units suspended for a year

Sabi Hussain 

Tribune News Service

Ranchi, May 22

Coming down heavily on the doping offence of lifters from Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Manipur, the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has imposed a one-year ban on the four state units for not doing enough to curb the menace and educate young athletes against the use of banned substances. The ban bars the weightlifting units from sending entries to any national-level competition for this period.

The IWF cracked the whip after 26 lifters tested positive for banned substance in tests by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) at four national championships by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) — a majority of them belonging to Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. The doping violations were also reported from the National Games in Kerala in February, which resulted in the provisional suspension of 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games gold medallist and Arjuna awardee Geeta Rani (Punjab) and Harjeet Kaur (Haryana). 

IWF vice-president Sahdev Yadav informed that the ‘B’ sample tests of the provisionally-suspended 26 lifters have also retuned positive, which means the lifters face a prospect of a ban ranging from four to eight years.

The IWF has also handed a two-year suspension to eight coaches for the offence of their wards and has fined them heavily. These include Punjab’s Jaspal Singh Sandhu, Madhya Pradesh’s Narinder Singh Rathore, Odisha’s Suraj Singh Sethi, Manipur’s Ng Thoiba and T Bobo Singh, and Delhi’s Ravi Kumar, SK Bakshi and Virender Kumar.

Virender, an NIS accreditated coach, has been suspended for the second time by the IWF. Virender, who has been working with the Sports Department of the Delhi government, was banned for two years (2012-2014) for another doping offence. He returned to the IWF fold this year, only to be banned again.

“We acted as per our rulebook which states that if two or more athletes from a state test positive in a national championship in a 12-month period, then the state federation and coaches will be suspended from participating in any activities of the IWF for a period of up to two years,” said Yadav.

The IWF, however, has offered a glimmer of hope to the four state associations to come out of the suspension if they pay up a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh each. “That is easier said than done. The state associations can’t walk scotfree by merely paying Rs 1.5 lakh as a fine. They have to furnish an undertaking that if the lifters from their states are caught for a doping offence in future, it would not only result in a longer suspension but imposition of heavy fine. The eight coaches, though, will remain suspended for two years,” Yadav said. 

Yadav said a majority of the dope cheats were caught from the National Games, All India Police Games (Ranchi), National Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships (Yamuna Nagar), All India Inter-University Championships in Pathankot  (January), Rajasthan State Championships and Inter-Railway Championships (Kolkata).