Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
The International Judo Federation said on Monday that Kosovo's judo gold medallist Majlinda Kelmendi had refused to take an unscheduled drug test in France ahead of the Rio Games but that the procedure looked "questionable" and any sanction given would not be applied outside France.
"I have been on teams where people have failed a drug test, accidentally and through no fault of their own. I would never call them cheats. It seems to be very hypocritical."
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was felt on the national sports budget as the central government on Monday allocated Rs 2596.14 crore for the financial year 2021-22 -- a reduction of Rs 230.78 crore when compared to the amount earmarked initially for the previous year.
Kenya's top runners have urged athletics fans and sports enthusiasts across the world to keep faith in them, despite media allegations of widespread doping in the east African nation famed for its top-class runners.
World athletics president Sebastian Coe said he reacted with "shock, anger and sadness" to this week's allegations of bribery, extortion and doping cover-ups and said the sport faces a "long road to redemption".
World athletics' governing body decided on Friday to maintain its doping ban on all Russian athletes, Sky News reported, quoting unnamed sources, leaving the country's hopes of competing in the Rio Olympics dependent on Olympic chiefs giving special dispensation at a meeting next week. The Council of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was meeting in Vienna to decide whether to lift the ban after hearing from a task force that significant doping problems still existed in Russia. The suspension was first imposed in November and extended in March. A spokeswoman for Russia's athletics federation said she could not confirm the reports that the ban had been upheld.
The 27-year-old gold medallist in the 20km race-walk event at the National Inter-State Championships in June, has been asked to return home from Budapest after Athletics Federation of India (AFI) received a notification from NADA regarding the athlete's "whereabouts failure".
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
Six-times Olympic champion Usain Bolt said he felt shocked and let down by the scandal-hit IAAF, but the Jamaican sprinter was against resetting athletics world records as the sport attempts to move on from the doping crisis.
India's gymnastics ace Dipa Karmakar on Saturday said she accepted provisional suspension after returning positive for a banned drug to swiftly resolve her case with the international federation.
A much-awaited report on Lance Armstrong's lifetime ban should be sent to cycling's world governing body no later than October 15, a spokesman for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said on Wednesday.
World No 2 Andy Murray says Maria Sharapova should be banned after her positive test for meldonium and questioned the Russian's use of the drug for medical purposes.
Dismisses sabotage angle, saying: "...all in all found the sabotage (s) theory possible, but not probable and certainly not grounded in any real evidence'
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Olympic chief Bach said on Saturday that he was sure clean Russian athletes would compete at the 2016 Games
Chris Xuereb, the masseur and fitness advisor of Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson, has denied providing the two Jamaican sprinters with performance-enhancing drugs and said they should take responsibility for their failed dope tests.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
Four Olympic weightlifting champions from Kazakhstan, including the sport's most celebrated figure Ilya Ilyin, are among 10 lifters to have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs at the London 2012 Olympics after their samples were reanalysed.
Continuing to back dope-tainted wrestler Narsingh Yadav, a top Wrestling Federation of India official on Friday claimed the 74-kg freestyle wrestler would have clinched the silver medal had he taken part in the Rio Olympics instead of being banned for four years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The International Cricket Council will conduct random dope tests during the World Twenty20 Championship in India, which is a regular practice in all ICC events, Tournament Director M V Sridhar said on Thursday. "The random dope tests have been a part of ICC events for a long time. Random dope tests are performed at all ICC events and it is not a new phenomenon," Tournament Director M V Sridhar told PTI. Sridhar clarified that a series of drug scandals that have recently rocked the sporting world, including tennis star Maria Sharapova's revelation, has not prompted the ICC to take this step as dope tests have been in practice since 2011. "I have never said that it is being done because of drug test failures as this has been a practice for a long time," Sridhar insisted. "ICC events have had dope tests since 2011. They (other sports) have their own anti doping agency which performs as ICC is not part of WADA and cricketers have not signed any whereabouts clause. "For the record, ICC had performed random dope tests at 2011 World Cup, T20 editions in 2012 and 2014. There are times when these dope tests are done during training sessions," Sridhar added.
What we must know about the substance the Russian tennis ace was taking before it was banned this year.
With Sushil Kumar's chances of participating in the second season of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) next to nil, another star India wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt is also likely to opt out of the upcoming event taking the sheen away from the tournament.
With the Rio Olympics less than three weeks away, the IOC on Monday promised "the toughest sanctions available" after a report found Moscow had concealed hundreds of positive doping tests in many sports ahead of the Sochi winter Games.
The world governing body for athletics (IAAF) fought back on Tuesday against media reports of suspected widespread doping in the sport, rejecting accusations it failed to investigate dubious drugs test results properly.
National Sports Federations and State Olympic Associations have been asked to collect feedback from the stakeholders such as athletes, coaches, support staff, central and state government ministries, match officials and sports administrators on how and when training should resume. The lockdown has been extended till May 17.
Athletics' governing body came under renewed fire on Tuesday following disclosures that top officials were aware of a potentially serious doping problem among Russian athletes as far back as 2009.
Athletics governing body suspends Russia after overwhelming vote
World Athletics, the sport's governing body, limited the number of Russians eligible to compete internationally this year to 10 in response to doping offences by senior staff at Russia's suspended athletics federation.
Eight-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt said he hopes American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson can "refocus" and get back on the track after she completes a one-month ban following a positive test for cannabis.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
Russia said on Friday it is ready to do everything from a legal point of view to defend Russian athletes if they are banned from taking part in the Rio Olympics over doping allegations.
Match-fixing has become increasingly pervasive in recent years across a number of sports.
Usain Bolt has told Reuters he would have no problem giving back one of his six Olympic gold medals if a Jamaican relay team mate is confirmed to have failed a drugs test.
Maria Sharapova will probably have to win 10 matches to claim a second Wimbledon title this year after deciding on Friday not to request a wildcard for the championships.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Doping could cast a shadow over Kenya at the 2016 Rio Olympics unless the East African nation implements credible systems to root out drugs cheats, said veteran Kenya-based coach Brother Colm O'Connell.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
Champions were dethroned, new national heroes born and world records smashed
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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