Weightlifter Laishram Monika Devi failed a dope test and pulled out of the Indian contingent for the Beijing Olympics.
Pressure will be on Mirabai Chanu to nail the much-awaited 90kg snatch lift for a shot at that elusive Asian Games medal when the weightlifting competition gets underway in Hangzhou on Saturday.
IWF President H J Dora said any player, who tests positive for banned drugs even once in international events would be slapped a lifetime ban from the sport.
The weight category sports at the Olympics are wrestling, boxing, taekwondo, judo and weightlifting. Most of these are combat sports and weight categories are designed to match athletes with competitors of similar size.
Cracking the whip on dope offenders, Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) on Saturday handed life bans on three lifters, including 2006 Commonwealth Games silver medallist Vicky Bhatta (56 kg), for their second dope offences.
In a dramatic face-off, agitated weightlifter Monika Devi on Wednesday stormed into the Sports Authority of India headquarters in New Delhi and confronted its Executive Director (Teams) R K Naidu, demanding report of her dope test, which she flunked.
Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu won the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year twice in a row.
Recent doping scandals may have tainted the image of Indian weightlifting, but Commonwealth Games gold medal winner K Ravi Kumar says he just wanted to prove that medals could be won without resorting to performance-enhancing drugs.
The Indian Weightlifting Federation owes an explanation and an apology to the country for the dope scandals that may lead to the humiliation of a third international ban, an angry Sports Minister M S Gill said on Monday.
Three years ago, India returned from Tokyo with seven medals, and it is only natural that a double-digit performance is now desired in Paris.
IWF secretary Balbir Singh Bhatia said Sunaina, a contender to make the Indian team for Athens Olympics, would not resort to dope.
With firm backing from the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF), dope-tainted lifter Monika Devi on Wednesday claimed innocence and alleged that she is being victimised by some members of the Sports Authority of India (SAI). Monika, the lone weightlifter chosen to represent India in the Beijing Olympic Games, was prevented from boarding her flight to Beijing on Tuesday night for testing positive for a banned anabolic salt.
Indian weightlifter Sathish Sivalingam broke a Commonwealth Games record in his debut Games, en route to a gold medal in the men's 77kg event in Glasgow on Sunday.
Olympic silver medallist weightlifter Mirabai Chanu will compete in a new weight class -- 55kg -- at the Commonwealth Games later this year to help maximise India's chances of winning more gold medals in the multi-sport event in Birmingham.
Both tested positive for banned substances at the Commonwealth Games.
India made an impressive start at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships, bagging 15 medals, including 11 gold, on the opening day at Apia, Samoa, on Wednesday.
Several athletes, including the hockey men's and women's teams of India, took part in the flag-hoisting ceremony at the CWG Village on Thursday.
India's tally at the world event now stands at four medals.
Under the directive of the International Hockey Federation, the Indian Olympic Association has set up a three-member committee to decide on who should run the game in the country out of the two warring bodies -- Hockey India and Indian Hockey Federation.
The government is unhappy with the wrestlers' behaviour and will not reconstitute the oversight committee formed to probe the sexual harassment charges against WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Indian weightlifters remained leaps ahead of their Commonwealth Games competitors, taking their gold medal tally to four
Chanu had confessed that the 90kg lift had become somewhat of a mental block last year, ahead of the CWG.
With Mirabai not in medal contention, weightlifting Worlds set to be an underwhelming affair for India
Mirabai Chanu's show was below her personal best.
'If they called a press conference to announce the life bans on us they should announce the reprieve also before the press,' the dope tainted
Singh's event was off to a dodgy start as he initially struggled to gain balance in his opening snatch lift. The Indian stopped just short of the end of the board with one out of the three judges giving him a red light but the 137kg lift was eventually deemed legit.
Shailaja, who won the women's up to 75 kg gold in Manchester, gave the positive test at a junior national meet in January
Tokyo Olympics will run from July 23 to August 8. The mega event was slated to be held last year, but it had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Olympic medallist Karnam Malleswari has shot back at Kunjarani Devi for putting her weight behind the Indian Weightlifting Federation, saying her compatriot's view regarding the current office bearers of IWF is 'unwarranted and sponsored'.
A record number of 634 sportspersons were on Friday cleared by the Sports Ministry to compete at the Hangzhou Asian Games, surpassing the 572 athletes in the last edition of continental showpiece in Jakarta in 2018.
The positive dope tests of eight top athletes in the last few days prompted calls for the immediate suspension of the Athletics Federation of India.
Olympics is a high-stakes and high-pressure situation and anything can happen. Guessing a medal on the basis of statistics is difficult, says Neeraj Chopra's coach Klaus Bartonietz.
Addressing a brief welcome home ceremony at the airport, Royte said Jeremy's success has brought laurel to not only India but also to Mizoram.
"I'm sure BCCI will sort this out," said Ganguly
Sydney Olympics bronze medalist Karnam Malleswari has reportedly resigned as the vice-president of Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said India has come a long way on the front of transparency in national selection of athletes and that has been key to country's success at the multi-sporting events.
Commenting on the post, Ishan Kishan jokingly asked, 'Why is Mr. Rajni doing so extra?'
In a respite to cash-strapped Indian Weightlifting Federation, the international body has extended the deadline for payment of the last two installments of a doping fine amounting to a whopping $3,75,000.
Indian weightlifters' participation in next year's Commonwealth Games is in jeopardy as the national federation is facing the prospect of a one-year ban after a third positive dope test.
After Ramesh Malhotra's suspension on charges of sexual harassment, the Indian Weightlifting Federation on Sunday headed towards a bitter showdown among its top brass with Olympic bronze medallist Karnam Malleswari demanding the sacking of secretary Sahdev Yadav for ignoring complaints against the disgraced coach.
