Gold medallist weightlifter Rupinder Singh fails dope test, faces life ban

Indian sport is in trouble again with the latest weightlifting dope scandal

Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships gold medallist Rupinder Singh has tested positive for a banned substance in a dope test conducted during the All India Police Games held in Ranchi. The weight-lifter had previously tested positive for an anabolic steroid in an out-of-competition sample collection two weeks ago. The difference this time around, of course, is that Rupinder now faces a life ban.

To add insult to injury, Vijay More of Maharashtra Police and Amlok Singh of Punjab Police, who are also gold medallists at the Police Games, have also tested positive. If proven guilty, the Indian lifters will face a ban that could range from eight years to life, a National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) official said.

The reports were confirmed by the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) vice-president Sahdev Yadav, who has issued a warning against the use of illegal substances to athletes across the country, promising swift and stern action against those found guilty.

With every such new incident that comes to light, the suspicion that authorities themselves are slack in controlling the problem is reinforced. Correspondingly, the federation’s much endorsed ‘zero-tolerance’ to doping comes into question too as more and more cases of dope abuse emerge with every passing day.

Back in 2012, the NADA had issued a warning to government sports federations, claiming that “no seriousness is being shown by it to curb the dope menace”.

Methandienone, an orally-effective anabolic steroid, was the banned substance found in Rupinder’s system when NADA collected his sample in the first week of December 2013 from National Institute of Sports, Patiala.

Rupinder won gold for India in the senior 105 kg snatch at the 2011 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Cape Town. He also won silver in clean and jerk (184 kg).

All three lifters will now be stripped of their medals won during the Police Games due to the recent developments.

The IWF is now seeking an explanation from the Railway Sports Promotion (RSP) on the reason why no samples were collected by the organizers of the India Inter-Railway Championship, held in Chennai. “We’ve asked RSP to explain why no samples were collected during the inter-Railways meet. We’re awaiting their response and can only decide the future course of action after that,” Yadav was quoted as saying.