Rio-bound Narsingh under dope cloud?

Sabi Hussain

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 23

The participation of wrestler Narsingh Pancham Yadav in the Rio Olympics is under a cloud after the 74kg freestyle specialist allegedly failed a dope test recently.

It has been learnt from sources that the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has found two samples taken from Yadav positive for dope. The Tribune couldn't get an official confirmation on the development.

There are indications that Yadav appeared before the NADA panel on Friday and has pleaded his innocence. According to a NADA source, Yadav has told the panel that the whole affair seems to be a conspiracy by some rival or rivals to put roadblocks in his participation at Rio.

According to sources, NADA conducted a random dope test on Yadav on July 5 at the Sports Authority of India's (SAI) regional centre in Sonepat. The report of his 'A' sample test came out positive, say the sources. Later, he was called for his 'B' sample test, which also returned positive. NADA sent its final report to the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) last Saturday.

The sources added that WFI brought this report to the knowledge of the Sports Ministry, which promptly asked NADA to conduct an urgent hearing into the matter as WFI sensed some conspiracy behind it.

As a precautionary measure, WFI has stopped Yadav from travelling with the other Rio-bound men's freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestlers to Georgia on July 25 for a fortnight-long training-cum-competition programme, it has been learnt. The wrestlers were scheduled to leave for Rio directly from Georgia. It has also been learnt that Yadav's Rio Olympics accreditation card has also been recalled by WFI from the wrestler as the NADA hearing is on.

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The Tribune spoke to officials in the Sports Ministry to get a confirmation of this development, but no administrator there was ready to come on record on this. However, they did not deny it.

A top SAI official said he was unaware of this development. “I would be surprised if anything of this sort has happened,” Injeti Srinivas, director general of SAI, told The Tribune. “It would be sad for the country. It would be a shock at a time when the whole of India is celebrating the Olympic spirit.”

WFI is tight-lipped on the matter and several calls made to federation president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and assistant secretary Vinod Tomar did not elicit any response. Yadav's phone was switched off.