With a mere two days to go before the wheels of the 2016 Rio Olympics are set in motion, it is yet another shocking revelation for the Indian contingent as well-placed sources have reported that sprinter Dharambir Singh has failed a dope test.
The 27-year-old Haryana-born athlete became the first male sprinter in 36 years to qualify for the 200-metres individual event when he clocked an impressive 20.45 seconds at the Indian Grand Prix in Bengaluru in July, which was a comfortable 0.05 seconds below the Rio mark of 20.50s.
As soon as it was learnt that Dharambir has been asked to stay back instead of boarding his scheduled flight on Tuesday, the signs were ominous and word spread that he has become the third Indian athlete after wrestler Narsingh Yadav and shot putter Inderjeet Singh to test positive for banned substances in a test conducted by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).
If proven, Dharambir will be facing a life ban since this will be a second offence by the Rohtak-based sprinter. While official reports are still awaited, chances look grim for Dharambir to participate in the 200m event at the Rio Olympics.
