Dope misery came India's way when two Rio-bound Indian sports persons - wrestler Narsingh Yadav and shot putter Inderjeet Singh tested positive for banned substance. The 28-year-old Inderjeet was caught using a banned steroid in an out-of-competition test on June 22. Sources said it was a "fancy-sounding" drug though the name could not be ascertained.
"The National Anti-Doping Agency sent a letter to the athletics federation saying Inderjeet had failed a dope test," a source said. India was sending its largest-ever athletics contingent to the Olympics and this latest development has created huge doubts in the minds of the international dope-watchers.
Gold-medallist in the Asian championships, Asian Grand Prix and the World University Games last year, Inderjeet was the first Indian athlete to qualify for Rio and the hope of breaching the 21m barrier on his Olympic debut, led him to a US-training stint in Pennsylvania. It is here, people close to the development, feel that he might have come in touch with performance enhancing substances.
Inderjeet had been registered by NADA for its testing pool and he was "avoiding" getting tested by the agency. "We were doubting something was wrong when we came to know about him avoiding the NADA tests. Our worst fears have come true," sources said.
Inderjeet returned from the US in the summer and participated in the Indian Grand Prix in the capital in April where he finished a fault-ridden second. Though he struggled with a shoulder injury and loss of form in recent times, but still he was considered a potential finalist in the Rio Olympics.
Meanwhile, Narsingh Yadav was surprised with the positive result, NADA Director General Navin Agarwal said. Narsingh was set to compete in the 74kg freestyle category at the Olympics. Agarwal said it was too early to say if Yadav's Rio hopes are over. "The disciplinary panel has sought more details on the case," he said. "It's too early to determine how much time they will take to come out with a verdict. But I would say we should know in a week."
