Empty vials, used syringes found near kabaddi venue in Punjabi University

Tribune News Service

Karam Prakash

Patiala, October 21

Empty vials and usesd syringes of drugs clogged the urinals of men’s washroom at the concluding day of the Khedan Watan Punjab Diyan at Punjabi University here today.

The urinals are 10 metres away from the venue of the kabaddi tournament.

Ironically, Punjab Cabinet Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak, who attended the kabaddi tournament on the concluding day, had claimed that the games would wash away the infamous tag of “Udta Punjab” associated with the state.

Sports experts believe that the kabaddi players might have taken some injections as ‘performance enhancers’.

Ironically, no dope tests were conducted throughout the tournament.

The organisers said there was no provision to conduct any dope test for the state-level games.

District Sports Officer (DSO) Shashwat Rajdan said there could be chances that a few players might have taken some performance enhancers.

“We are not sure if these injections were used by the kabaddi players participating in the tournament or someone else. Strict instructions were given to players to keep themselves away from doping and counselling was also done,” the DSO said.

Rajdan said the players, who regularly participated in games at the national-level, feared the National Anti-Doping Agency, which randomly took samples.

Meanwhile, the kabaddi coaches claimed that it was no secret that a few players took drugs to enhance their performance since there was no agency to conduct dope tests for the state games.

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