Indian weightlifting was on Wednesday hit by another doping controversy barely days after the country was saved from an international ban, including missing the Commonwealth Games, with 53kg lifter Sanamacha Chanu failing an NADA dope test conducted last month. The 31-year-old Chanu, one of the most successful woman weightlifters in the country, tested positive for the banned substance methylhexaneamine, her second offence after being caught at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Facing a life ban after failing a second dope test, weightlifter Sanamacha Chanu on Thursday accused the Indian Weightlifting Federation of keeping her in the dark about the banned substance methylhexaneamine, which she said she cannot even spell properly.
Dope-tainted weightlifter Sanamacha Chanu faces a life ban after her 'B' sample test, conducted by the National Anti-Doping Agency, also turned out positive for a banned stimulant. The 'A' sample of 31-year-old Chanu, one of the most successful woman weightlifters in the country, which was taken during the trials for the Commonwealth Games in August had tested positive for methylhexaneamine.
Pratima Kumari tested positive even before the Games while Chanu was caught in the testing after her 53kg event.
The two Indian lifters finished outside the medal bracket in the women's 53kg category at the World Weightlifting Championships.
Weightlifting coach Pal Singh Sandhu has also been banned for life, IOA President Suresh Kalmadi announced on Wednesday.
Sanamacha Chanu has been named as the second Indian woman weightlifter to be caught for doping at the Athens Olympics, a top Indian official said on Friday.
Nikhil Kanetkar and Abhinn Shyam Gupta begin their campaign in the men's badminton tournament.
The Indian weightlifter will file a case in the Delhi high court challenging the IOA's decision to ban her for life.
Disappointed at missing out on a bronze at Sydney, weightlifter Sanamcha Chanu is determined to make amends in Athens.
From bitter fights to dope shame, Indian Olympic team's tryst with controversies
National Anti-Doping Agency Director General Navin Agarwal says all the Rio Olympics-bound sportspersons have undergone testing for banned substances and are dope-free. He, however, conceded that there were issues regarding testing of a few Rio-bound sportspersons as they were not available at the 'whereabouts' provided by them as mandated under the Anti-Doping Administration Management System (ADAMS) of the World Anti-Doping Agency, but NADA was able to get their testing done later on.
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