Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel on Wednesday said that doors are almost shut for dope-tainted wrestler Narsingh Yadav to go to Rio Olympics and said it is time for the conspiracy theories to stop.
Rubbishing rumours that he had engineered the dope fiasco surrounding Olympic-bound Narsingh Yadav, a fuming Satpal Singh said it was wrong to point fingers at him and his protege without any proof. A fuming Satpal said the allegations against him were absolutely baseless and was ready to face any inquiry.
The suspense over wrestler Narsingh Yadav's Olympic participation was on Thursday prolonged further after the National Anti-Doping Agency deferred its final verdict on the doping scandal surrounding him to Saturday or Monday at the end of a two-day hearing in New Delhi. A day after Narsingh and his lawyers presented their case on the failed dope test, which according to them, was a conspiracy against the grappler, NADA's legal team gave its arguments against the sabotage theory before the disciplinary committee. "Hearing has been concluded today (Thursday). The judgement will come out either on Saturday or Monday," NADA's lawyer Gaurang Kanth told reporters at the end of the hearing.
Star wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt secured an Olympic quota place for India after making the final round of the men's 65kg freestyle event on the second day of the Asian Olympic Qualification in Astana on Friday.
Double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar has insisted that his participation in television reality show MTV Roadies is not going to affect his preparations for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
'We have ensured that whatever he eats or drinks comes in a packaged form and is thoroughly checked.'
A day after wrestler Narsingh Yadav was exonerated of doping charges by the National Anti-doping Agency (NADA), its parent world body WADA said that it will review the case.
The alleged conspiracy in the Narsingh Yadav dope scandal began to unravel, on Wednesday, with the wrestler identifying two fellow grapplers as the saboteurs, who contaminated his food with a banned steroid, in a formal police complaint.
His Olympic dream in jeopardy after a failed dope test, wrestler Narsingh Yadav claimed innocence, saying that the scandal is a conspiracy against him.
'I didn't go for the World Championships to see someone else take my place at the Olympics.'
Shuttler P V Sindhu scripted a new chapter in Indian Olympic history with unprecedented feat but the embattled Narsingh Yadav's dreams lay in tatters after being slapped with a four-year doping ban on a bitter-sweet day for the country at the Rio Games.
Sachin Tendulkar will travel to the Rio Olympics after being invited by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach along with other eminent global personalities.
With Narsingh's participation in serious doubt, Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com spoke exclusively to Sushil Kumar's coach Satpal Singh.
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), on Thursday, denied sending any list of Olympic probables, sans Sushil Kumar, to the Indian Olympic Association, insisting that the two-time medallist is not yet out of contention for the Rio Games.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Vinesh Phogat, the only Indian woman wrestler to have qualified for Tokyo Olympics, has pulled out of the national camp citing health safety concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a decision which has irked the national federation.
Dismisses sabotage angle, saying: "...all in all found the sabotage (s) theory possible, but not probable and certainly not grounded in any real evidence'
Fighting for an Olympic ticket on the unfamiliar legal turf, Sushil Kumar's glorious wrestling career may meet an unceremonious end when the Delhi High Court pronounces its verdict on Monday on who gets to board the flight to Rio between him and Narsingh Yadav. An unfavourable verdict for Sushil may not be the end on the legal front as he can still challenge the ruling in the Supreme Court. But it could well signal the end of the road for perhaps the greatest Indian Olympian, who won two back-to-back medals. With less than two months left for the Olympics, starting August 5, future look bleak for the unassuming grappler from Haryana whose injuries played a part in the entire sequence of events leading up to Monday. The Delhi High Court, in its last hearing on Thursday, gave clear indications that it was likely to give a judgement in favour of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) in the tiff over selection trials in the men's 74kg freestyle category. The Delhi High court had observed that it did not find "any statutory mandate" to hold trials before the Olympics.
'I am only saying that whoever between me and Narsingh is better, should represent the country at the Olympics' 'Trails took place in the past, before the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. Last time, there was no competition, thus the trails did not take place. There was no one to challenge me in my weight category last time. But this time, the situation is different'
A day after unheralded grappler Sakshi Malik opened India's medal count with a dramatic bronze-winning effort, shuttler P V Sindhu is all set to further showcase Indian women's capabilities at the Olympic on Thursday.
Tainted wrestler Narsingh Yadav was exonerated of doping charges by the National Anti-Doping Agency panel, probing the positive tests on his urine samples on Monday. It ruled "there is no negligence on the athlete's part and he is a victim of sabotage".
'The Federation, which is an autonomous body, is the final authority'
Former coaches say that it will be a tough call. The WFI faces the tedious dilemma of youth versus experience, rising star up against the country's most celebrated athlete.
Sushil Kumar later ruled himself out of the running to take Narsingh's spot at Rio.
Sushil, who is yet to make a formal statement on the matter, put out a cryptic tweet after the controversy broke out.
Narsingh Yadav's chances of making it to the Olympics will be known on Thursday. The National Anti-Doping Agency's disciplinary panel adjourned its hearing on the dope scandal surrounding the wrestler on Wednesday evening, even as he failed a second dope test and lodged a police complaint against two fellow-grapplers.
Rejecting allegations of conflict of interest against Sushil Kumar, the Sports Ministry on Thursday defended the star grappler's appointment as a national observer for wrestling.
Widely expected to clinch one last medal for India at the Rio Games, London Olympics bronze-medallist Yogeshwar Dutt is trying hard not to let the Narsingh Yadav episode affect him ahead of the men's 65kg freestyle event on Sunday. A day after an unassuming Sakshi Malik became the heartthrob of the nation by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to win an Olympic medal when she opened India's tally with a bronze, doping cloud began to haunt the grapplers again as Narsingh was slapped with a four-year ban for testing positive for banned substance.
Kidambi Srikanth, the centre of attention in the Rio Olympics on Wednesday, can take heart from Hyderabad city mate P V Sindhu for his men's singles quarter-final clash against Chinese badminton icon Lin Dan.
Wrestling Federation of India, on Friday, conceded that it was not being able to convince the Court of Arbitration for Sports' panel that grappler Narsingh Yadav was a victim of conspiracy and sabotage, and that was why he lost the case and was ejected from the Rio Olympics with a four-year ban.
Indian shot putter Inderjeet Singh, who returned positive for banned substances last month, alleged that his dope samples might have been tampered with as the National Anti-Doping Agency gave him two different results on the same sample collected on June 29, a claim denied by the NADA. Inderjeet, one of the 36 Indian track and field athletes who qualified for the ongoing Rio Olympics, circulated documents at a press conference which showed that the National Dope Testing Laboratory had given two different results of the A sample taken on June 29 during the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Hyderabad.
The suspense over wrestler Narsingh Yadav's participation in the Rio Olympic Games was prolonged further after the National Anti-Doping Agency deferred its final verdict on the doping scandal to Monday.
Sports Minister Vijay Goel has hinted that Narsingh Yadav's prospects of participating in the Rio Olympics is virtually over, but said the wrestler will be given a fair chance to defend himself.
The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) Director General Navin Agarwal confirmed that they found two samples taken fromNarsingh Yadav positive for dope.
In a massive heartbreak for India, wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt slumped to a shock defeat in the men's 65kg freestyle qualification round bout against Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran of Mongolia at the Rio Olympic Games.
Dope-tainted Narsingh Yadav admitted that his career would be over if the four-year ban imposed on him by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) is not reviewed and said that the country should take up his case as India lost out on an Olympic medal in wrestling.
The Delhi High Court on Monday, dismissed wrestler Sushil Kumar's plea seeking selection trial with Narsingh Yadav for 74 kg freestyle category for a berth at the Rio Olympics.
The Delhi HC had issued a notice to the Wrestling Federation of India and the Centre in reply to the plea by wrestler Sushil Kumar over his selection battle with Narsingh Yadav for the Rio Olympics.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
Sushil Kumar's fight for an Olympic berth suffered another blow with the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) strongly hinting that they would prefer Narsingh Yadav for the Rio event by insisting on not having a trial given the quota winner's "consistent performances". Following the Delhi High Court directive, a special WFI committee, formed on the instruction of the court, held a meeting with the two-time Olympic medallist, to sort out as to who between Sushil and Narsingh would represent India in the men's 74kg freestyle category at the mega-event in August. "Sushil has put forward his views before the committee and has maintained what he has been saying since the very beginning that he should get a chance to undergo a trial," WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh told reporters in New Delhi. "We have told him that 'you have put Indian wrestling at a pedestal and we cannot ignore your contribution and we all respect you'. But on the other hand, there is another wrestler who has brought the Olympic quota and also has been giving consistent performances. So, can we be unfair to him also?" Brij Bhushan added.
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