Indian weightlifting on brink of 2016 Rio Olympics exclusion

Pramila Krisani has attended the Olympic Games preparatory camp at Patiala

Two women weightlifters from the Indian team that will take part in World Championships from November 20 have been banned after they tested positive in dope test. Names of Pramila Krisani and Minati Sethi have been added to the banned list on International Weightlifting Federation’s website.

Rules set by the international body say that three positive dope test results in a calendar year will lead to a one-year ban on the national federation. This is threatening for Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) as one more positive dope test result can ban the nation’s participation in Rio Olympic Games 2016.

IWF secretary-general D Chandradas Rai said he was unaware of anyone being dropped from the team that will participate in World Championships. According to a report by Hindustan Times he said, “Our office in Delhi would know better.” Nobody from the Delhi office was available for comment.

Now there are seven dope cheat cases from the core group that is preparing to take part in the Rio Olympics. This is definitely making IWF’s task to earn a berth for Rio tougher. The most striking thing that has come up is Pramita and Minati had never tested positive in domestic meets or out-of-competition tests at Patiala. This can mean that the system within India protects top lifters from the camp.

These two women weightlifters recently failed dope tests during Commonwealth Championships at Pune. They were provisionally suspended from all competitions under held under the name of International Weightlifting Federation Both of them tested positive for stanozol which is an anabolic steroid. Krisani had earned the women’s 53kg gold in the senior nationals that was held at Jaipur in March. Sethi won gold at the National Games in Kerala.

At Commonwealth Championships in Pune, Krisani had won silver in the 53kg category and Sethi got bronze in 58kg.

The national body had a narrow escape as before the Asian championship Jameer Hussain and Aporva Chettri failed National Anti Doping Agency’s pre-departure tests. IWF would have been suspended if these two were tested positive. Previously the national federation was suspended in 2004, 2006 and 2009. In 2010 to participate in Commonwalth Games, India had paid a lump sum amount of more than Rs. 2 crore as a penalty to the world body.