Even as the International Weightlifting Federation ponders over the quantum of punishment for the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) after a series of positive dope results, some more cases are set to be added to the list.
The embarrassment for the country is not just because the number of offenders is set to go up by another four, but also because these new offenders caught by the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) belong to the Services.
The NADA, which is affiliated to the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA), swooped down on an Inter-Services meet recently to discover the use of banned substance ‘Nandranol’ in the samples taken from four weightlifters, including a past offender.
Former national champion E Damadoran, a member of the core group preparing for the Commonwealth Games but one who has also been caught for doping in the past, is the biggest fish. AR Balgun, AK Dubey and V Biju are the others to have tested positive.
So, even as the world body awaits the final verdict on certain individual cases before it decides on the IWF’s fate, it has little chance of going back on its past promise of penalising the Indian federation heavily.
But interestingly, with the IWF a virtually defunct body after an en masse resignation of officials who took responsibility for rampant doping, it is not known who exactly will be in a position to slap a one-year ban (for two or more offences in a year) on Services should the ‘B’ samples confirm the offences.
For Services, it is proving to be a forgettable season in sports. Earlier this month, its cricket team did not travel to Srinagar for a Ranji Trophy match against Jammu and Kashmir citing security concerns.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA), which is hoping to rescue the national federation from a ban as it badly needs medals in weightlifting to boost its tally, has promised to put a new body in place at the earliest.
The IWF had earlier withdrawn its contingent from the World Championships in South Korea fearing a ban after having already seen eight of its competitors test positive. Its officials subsequently put in their papers on an advice from the IOA.
