One of India’s top male javelin throwers failed a dope test and had to withdraw from the first leg of the Indian Grand Prix in Patiala right before the event.
The Athletics Federation of India was informed by the International Association of Athletics Federations that the athlete, who is part of the registered testing pool of the IAAF, had failed an out of competition dope test, according to a report by The Indian Express.
While the athlete was not named, the newspaper mentioned that he had failed a dope test last year as well but was allowed to compete because the substance he had tested for was not in the list of banned drugs and didn’t have provisional suspension.
However, sources in the AFI confirmed that this was a new case and not related to the athlete’s previous incident. His name was removed from the start list of yesterday’s javelin event at once, continued the report.
The said thrower has been based at the national camp was training with German coach Uwe Hohn in Patiala, preparing for the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.
For now, his B sample needs to be tested before any action is taken.
The men’s javelin throw was won by Neeraj Chopra (82.88m), followed by Vipin Kasana (80.04) and Amit Kumar 77.33) Chopra, a junior world record holder, also qualified for the Commonwealth Games with his throw. The standard for the men’s javelin was 81.80 metres, which he crossed. The Commonwealth Games will be a crucial event for the Haryana athlete after he failed to reach the finals of the World Championships in London last year.
India’s Davinder Singh Kang was the only Indian to make the final of javelin throw at the World Athletic Championships. He finishing 12th with a best throw of 84.22m.