Olympic shot-putter and Asian champion Manpreet Kaur fails drug test

What's the story?

Manpreet Kaur, who won gold for India at the recently-concluded Asian Athletics Championships 2017, has tested positive for a banned stimulant dimethylbutylamine and risks losing the medal that she won in Bhubaneshwar.

The test was held at the Federation Cup National Championships, which was held from June 1-4, held in Patiala.

"Manpreet has tested positive in a test conducted during the Federation Cup in June. Her urine sample has been found to have stimulant dimethylbutylamine," an Athletics Federation of India (AFI) was quoted as saying to the Press Trust of India.

"We have been notified by the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) about this last night," he added.

In case you didn't know

Manpreet is a former world number one herself and was part of the Indian contingent at the Rio Olympics last year.

She won gold at the Asian Championships with a throw of 18.28m and had already sealed her place at next month's World Championships in London after a fine show at the Asian Athletics Grand Prix in April in China, where she broke the national record with an effort of 18.86m.

The heart of the matter

The stimulant in question falls under the list of 'specified substances' issued by the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA), which means she will not be provisionally suspended. She remains, as a result, still eligible to participate in the World Championships.

However, her gold from earlier this month will be taken away if her 'B' sample also tests positive. She will face a NADA disciplinary hearing as well, where she will be required to prove her innocence, as per a report in the Hindustan Times.

What's next?

It remains to be seen how the disciplinary meeting and the 'B' sample report will come out to be. For now, she still has her ticket to take part in London next month.

The AFI official also stated that they have not yet made a decision on her participation at the marquee event and that they will take a call on it soon.

Author's take

After such strong performances throughout the year, it is extremely disheartening to see Manpreet being pulled up for doping. Here's hoping the matter is decided as quickly as possible and a fair course of action is taken if the athlete is found guilty.