Two for CWG in dope net

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New Delhi, July 20

Sprinter S Dhanalakshmi and triple-jumper Aishwarya Babu, both part of the Indian athletics squad for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games (CWG), have been axed after failing dope tests. The embarrassing news came on the day PM Narendra Modi interacted with the contingent for the CWG, which begin on July 28.

The 24-year-old Dhanalakshmi was named in India’s squad for 100m (individual) and 4x100m relays.

Dhanalakshmi, who recently blazed the field on her way to winning the 200m gold at the Qosanov Memorial in Almaty in Kazakhstan, was snared in the net following testing done abroad by the Athletics Integrity Unit of World Athletics. Dhanalakshmi clocked 22.89 seconds in Almaty, bettering her previous best of 23.14s.

Compounding her troubles, her samples collected by India’s National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) have returned positive as well.

She has been handed a provisional suspension, making her ineligible to compete at the CWG.

Incidentally, Dhanalakshmi did not travel with the Indian team to Eugene for the ongoing World Athletics Championships, reportedly over visa problems.

Dhanalakshmi’s dope failure has hurt India’s chances of qualifying for the final of the individual 100m and 4x100m relays. She was slated to run the anchor leg in the relays as she was the fastest amongst Hima Das, Dutee Chand and Srabani Nanda.

NADA took her out-of-competition samples in Thiruvananthapuram in June, and the report showed traces of anabolic steroids.

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has replaced Dhanalakshmi with MV Jilna. The Indian Olympic Association has updated the online registration for athletes and asked Jilna to complete the other formalities, including her biometric details.

Jilna was initially named in the six-member 4x100m relay team but was dropped after AFI exceeded its quota of 36 athletes for the CWG.

Aishwarya suspended as well

Another top prospect in track and field, triple-jumper Aishwarya Babu, has also been caught in the dope net. Her samples were taken during her excellent run at last month’s National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Chennai, where she set a national record of 14.14m, also touching 6.73m in long jump.

Her samples were collected by NADA on June 13 and 14, and the report has shown traces of ostarine, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM). She too has been provisionally suspended.

Prime Minister interacts with CWG athletes

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, interacting with Indian athletes for the CWG via video-conferencing, told them: “Play with all your heart, play hard, play with full confidence and will play without any stress.” Over the year, the PM has been interacting with Indian athletes before and after major events, including last year’s Tokyo Olympics. TNS