Three more Indian weightlifters have tested positive for doping, taking the latest positive tests to five, and the national body is now facing another suspension. Male lifters Harbhajan Singh and Rajesh Kumar and female Bijaya Devi were caught in World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) tests at a training camp for the Commonwealth championships.
India's weightlifting federation has handed out life bans to two lifters after both were found guilty of second doping offences. Top male lifter Sateesha Rai, first caught and stripped of two gold medals and a bronze at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and woman lifter Boradi Prameelavalli have been banned.
The negative publicity surrounding the series of dope flunks by lifters has forced the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) to forfeit itself the right to host Asian Youth and Junior Championships in December, a top official of the federation said on Tuesday.
Folk artist from Chhattisgarh Teejan Bai, Guelleh, Naik and theatre actor from Maharashtra Balwant Moreshwar Purandare will be honoured with Padma Vibushan.