``No conscious use of drugs''

NATIONAL athletics selector Adille Sumariwalla rules out the possibility of conscious drug use in Indian athletics, especially among the nation's best now at Sydney to compete in the 2000 Olympics. ``Luckily and traditionally, not a single Indian has tested positive despite taking part in so many Olympic Games and the Asian Games. Indian athletes returned from the Jakarta Asian Championships early this month. All winners have been tested, plus the random testing. So every single person going to Sydney has been tested by an international body and found clean,'' says this former India sprinter who competed at the 1980 Moscow Olympics and is now one of the six national selectors.

``As far as we are concerned there is no issue. But you have to understand that drug testing regulations are so strong and difficult that you can slip up. You take some tablet, like what Aparna Popat took, and can be banned,'' points out Sumariwalla, who along with former greats G. S. Randhawa, Sriram Singh, Bahadur Singh, Shiny Wilson and coach J. S. Saini formed the selectors panel for Sydney. ``Then you can't say the athlete was on dope. Every single athlete in the Indian team has been cleared. If something happens between now and Sydney, I don't think there is anybody stupid enough to get caught, you can't hold India's athletic programme responsible. If it can happen, I think it has to be a mistake. I don't think a doctor or a sports medicine specialist or even the athlete will take a risk like that.''

``I don't know why we are making an issue out of it. I think the media is creating an issue which will cause tremendous harm to Indian sport. By creating this hype and with people like P. T. Usha saying that athletes are on drugs, will get the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) stationed in India. A situation may arise when any Indian athlete taking medicine for cough or cold may be randomly tested and then get thrown out for a positive drug test,'' he points out, even as the Indian athletes fine-tune their preparations for the Millennium Olympics at Sydney, where drug checks begin at the airport.

Sumariwalla also denies the possibility of any dilution of qualifying standards for the Games and points out that India's 24-member contingent, the biggest ever Olympics athletics squad, appears huge due to the inclusion of three relay teams. ``Seven men and ten women have qualified in the individual events, so the squad is not as big as it is made out to be. It is the three relay teams (women's 4x100m and 4x400m and men's 4x400m) with six runners each, which make up the numbers,'' he says, pointing out that the women's 4x400 relay squad and shotputter Shakti Singh have the potential to advance to the finals in their respective events.

He also defends the role played by the foreign experts in shaping up the Indian Olympic squad. Ukrainians Andrey Shurepov (coach for throws), Yuri Ogordnik (coach for sprints and relay), Dr. Yuri Boyko (doctor) and Inna Zveryeva (masseur) are the foreign experts attached to the squad whose services have been requisitioned by the Amateur Athletic Federation of India (AAFI) over the last two years. Excerpts from an interview:

Question: India has a big presence at Sydney. Do you think our athletes are ready to hold their own against international competition?

Answer: From personal experience, I can tell you that it is not possible to just get to the Olympic Games and win. The atmosphere is so different, so charged that it overwhelms you. Therefore I think it is very important for this large group of athletes who are among the best in Asia, to be there. Given the right exposure the Sydney experience will really hold them in good stead in future. And having watched the trend in track and field after the 1988 Bangkok Asian Games, the rise in standards in India, we are confident of fielding athletes who can be considered medal prospects at the Olympics four years from now.

Q: Milkha Singh in the 1960 Rome Olympics and P. T. Usha in the 1984 Los Angeles Games created a flutter by coming within sight of a medal. Any athlete on the Sydney 2000 squad with similar potential?

A: I really don't know if we can win a medal or not. But the women's 4x400m relay team will run the finals, thrower Shakti Singh win be in the finals, at least eight athletes will finish in the first 12 and all the rest within the first 20 at Sydney. I think that is a very good start if you have set your eyes on a long-term goal to win an Olympic medal from track & field four years from now.

Q: As one of the national selectors, you have obviously had a close look at each one of the Olympic probables. Were there any selection parameters on the basis of which the Sydney squad was chosen?

A: We set the parameters for selection over a year ago. We set up qualifying standards which were more stringent than what the IAAF and the Sydney Olympics Games Committee send us. However looking at the improvement in performance and a commitment that the performance will improve at this rate, the selectors decided that any Indian athlete who achieved the qualifying standards laid down by the Olympic committee would be sent to Sydney.

Q: India is catching up with the rest of the athletic world by having foreign experts involved in training and preparations of our athletes. Did the six-member selection panel consult any of these Ukrainians coaches/doctors before finalising the squad for Sydney?

A: As far as the Ukrainian coaches and doctors were concerned, at each and every selection committee meeting, we called them in for a full-fledged discussion on each athlete. We tackled it event by event, for example the Ukrainian coach for throws was consulted when the Indian throwers were being shortlisted. I think the role of these Ukrainian experts in preparing the Indian athletes was tremendous. If it wasn't for their views, many more would have qualified. We have not taken a single person who has not made the grade. As far as Indian athletics is concerned, it is very clear that there has been a rise in the standard and improvement in performance with the help of the coaches and sports medicine specialists from Ukraine. It is team work, not the work of one person.

Q: Indian athletes have been preparing under these foreign experts for two years now - the major events being the Commonwealth Games at Kuala Lumpur and Asian Games at Bangkok two years ago, the last two Asian Track & Field Championships at Fukuoka and Jakarta respectively and now the 2000 Olympics. Will the encouraging results and medal hauls extend to Sydney?

A: Expecting an Olympic medal after just two years under Ukrainian coaches is far-fetched. The women's 4x400m relay squad will come close to it, Shakti Singh throwing over 20.5m will come close, anything can happen at that level of competition. It is not possible to sit here and predict, but it is just not possible to extend the medal hauls to the Olympics Games.

Q: Two of our brightest prospects - distance- runners Sunita Rani and middle-distance runner Jyotirmoy Sikdar - will not be running at Sydney due to injuries, the first due to training overload and the second perhaps due to wrong treatment. As a selector, do you share the country's feelings of being cheated of the services of these two?

A: Let us separate the two. After the Bangkok Asian Games, Jyotirmoy Sikdar was never going to run. It was very clear internally, everybody knew. The media hype created is a separate issue. People close to her knew she was never going to run again. She could not openly say that she had retired, because then people would not be giving her the aid.

Sunita Rani got injured, it happens, you can't help it. She was sent to the World Championships, she was fine and fit. She got injured after that. I don't see any reason why the selectors should feel cheated or the country should feel cheated.

NANDAKUMAR MARAR

Mumbai

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