Mar 29 2009
Indian Weightlifter Monika Devi Faces Two-Year Ban for Doping
After being banned from taking part in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Manipuri weightlifter Monika Devi was meted a two-year ban for doping when a WADA- accredited clinic in Tokyo, Japan, confirmed that her B sample had indeed tested positive for a banned substance. The Krishnamurthy Commission recommended that Devi’s ‘B’ sample be sent for testing to the Tokyo clinic in order to shed some light into the weightlifter’s doping episode. Earlier, the “A” sample from 28-year-old Devi was found to have “adverse analytical findings”, this cost her to lose her spot in the Beijing Olympics.
The controversy also sparked protests in Devi’s home state. Normally, any athlete who would want to have his/her ‘B’ sample tested would be asked to foot the bill. However, in this case, the Sports Ministry shelled out money for the expenses of the weightlifters‘ tests. Moreover, a representative of Devi even went to Tokyo to monitor the proceedings, and local news reports say that the Indian government funded this too. Reports have also indicated that the proper authorities in India have been notified of the Tokyo test results, and the Indian Weightlifting Federation officials refuse to issue a comment as of press time because the case is being reviewed by the courts.
Under Indian Weightlifting Federation rules, athletes found guilty of doping on the first offense will automatically be meted a two-year ban. This could very well apply to Devi as well - meaning she has just blown her chance of competing in the 2010 Commonwealth Games as well as the Asian Games slated to take place in Guangzhou, China.
Devi had earlier lodged an appeal to a Delhi High Court petitioning that the results of her “A” sample be quashed on grounds that the testing authorities failed to follow WADA rules. Devi’s camp is claiming that a violation was made because WADA rules dictate that the athlete should be informed of the results of her “A” sample tests within 10 days, but this was not followed in the case of the Indian weightlifter. The court petition further claimed that the results of the test was not revealed to Devi but was leaked to the media, which again, is a direct violation of the WADA testing rules.
The Delhi High Court has scheduled a hearing for April 2 and subsequently issued notices to the Sports Ministry, NDTL, SAI and IWF to attend the court proceedings. In 2008, Devi was made to undergo four separate sample tests. The first one was on June 6, then June 29, followed by another round of tests on July 15 and finally, July 28. The first and last tests were submitted before the Krishnamurthy Commission because these had been found positive for the presence of banned substances. Interestingly, the June 29 and July 15 tests found no banned substance in the samples provided.
[...] Monika Devi doping case. Though the panel is now scheduled to start soon, several questions still are circulating not only about the procedures but also about the eventual penalties in the case where Monica is found “guilty” and all other formalities after everything is completed. The NADA or the National Anti-Doping Agency had taken over the “results management” of all doping cases in all sports in the country as well as the Indian Weightlifting Federation and other national federations who had agreed with the NADA over their role as well as of the disciplinary panel. [...]