Two days after wrestler Narsingh Yadav was founding guilty of taking a banned substance, shotputter Inderjeet Singh also failed a dope test on Tuesday. His A-sample came out positive for a dope test conducted by the National Anti-Doping Agency on June 22, but he has the option to send his B-sample for testing in the next seven days. The Punjab-born athlete, who was touted as one of the front-runners to bag a medal at the Rio Olympics, which start in 10 days, could be banned from participation.
The news has clearly not gone down well with the 28-year-old, who alleged that there has been some foul play during his tests. "This is a conspiracy and there is something wrong in it. This will be checked by the doctors though. I don't want to comment on it but whoever has tried to raise their voice in this country, they are forced to shut up," he said, as quoted by NDTV. Singh's outspoken nature has caught the ire of officials in the past. Barely two weeks ago, he was quoted by dna lamenting about the volume of tests undergone by the athletes.
Rapid rise
It was not until 2013 that the gangly Singh rose to prominence. He made history by becoming the first Indian to win a medal in track-and-field events in the World University Games in Russia, clinching a silver medal with a then career-best 19.70. Destined for bigger things, national recognition came soon during the Asian Games 2014 in Incheon, where he bagged a bronze medal. This sparked a windfall.
With an appetite for the big stage, Singh's hurl created a world record in Wuhan, with his effort clocking 20.41 in the Asian Championships. This came at the back of yet another gold, which came in the Asian Grand Prix. Unanimously, he was hailed as one of India's best medal hopefuls for the Olympics.
The road ahead
All is not lost for Singh and Yadav, who can still fly to Brazil, provided their Sample 'B' test results are favourable. As for personal vendetta, both have cried conspiracy and have about a week to prove it. The Wrestling Federation of India has also supported Yadav's claim of sabotage, which brings the question: who really benefits from it, considering another athlete will not be able to take their place in Rio?
Officials from both the WFI and the Indian Olympic Association have told the media that there is no chance of Yadav's spot being given to two-time Olympian Sushil Kumar since the last day for submitting entries was July 18. The 33-year-old Olympic silver medallist had unsuccessfully taken the WFI to court, demanding that they hold trials between him and Yadav, who had won India a quota place in wrestling at the Olympics.
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