Sport - Shooting

Kavita’s positive test kept under wraps

NEW DELHI: Kavita Devi, a 75kg competitor in the Indian team for the recent Asian weightlifting championships, had tested positive before the meet in Kanazawa City, Japan, and was off-loaded and sent back.

The circumstances leading to the disclosure of Kavita’s ‘positive’ and exclusion from the team were shrouded in mystery, but the Indian Weightlifting Federation President, Harbhajan Singh, confirmed that Kavita had tested positive for a steroid and was under provisional suspension.

“We received the information late. When we came to know about it, we asked her to return from Japan,” Mr. Harbhajan Singh said when contacted on Sunday. He said the lifter had returned on April 26.

Mr. Harbhajan Singh said that Kavita, who trains at the Centre of Excellence, Lucknow, had declined the ‘B’ sample test and had been asked to explain by the Indian federation. The sample was collected by an international testing team at the training camp at the NIS, Patiala, last month.

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) is expected to complete the hearing process in due course. Kavita faces a two-year suspension.

The World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) had reportedly made two visits to the NIS in March-April and on the second occasion collected the urine samples of 10 lifters including that of Kavita.

It is clear that there would have been a time-lag between Kavita’s ‘A’ sample test and report and her refusal to have the ‘B’ sample test. How, in that case, the Haryana lifter was included in the team and allowed to proceed to Japan thus becomes a matter of debate.

The women’s team which won an overall bronze in the Asian meet through Monika Devi in the 69kg category, apart from silver and a bronze by the same lifter in snatch and clean and jerk, earned one Olympic quota berth with its effort.

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