CWG gold medallist weightlifter Sanjita Chanu fails dope test: IWF

Agencies
June 1, 2018

New Delhi, Jun 1: Dope shame returned to haunt Indian weightlifting as two-time Commonwealth Games champion Sanjita Chanu tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid and was provisionally suspended by the international federation.

International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) said on its website that Sanjita, who had won a gold in the women's 53kg category in the recent Gold Coast CWG, has tested positive for testosterone.

"IWF reports that the sample of Ms. Sanjita Chanu Khumukcham (IND) has returned an Adverse Analytical Finding for Testosterone (S1.1 Anabolic Agents). As a consequence, the Athlete is provisionally suspended in view of a potential anti-doping rule violation," IWF stated.

"In any case where it is determined that the Athlete did not commit an anti-doping rule violation, the relevant decision will also be published," the IWF added.

The IWF did not give details, such as the dates, of the dope test sample collection, saying "it will not make any further comments on the case until it is closed".

Sanjita has been asked to leave the national camp by the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) after the dope result reached the national body on May 15 and she has left for her home in Manipur. The other weightlifters are currently training at SAI Centre at Shilaroo in Himachal Pradesh.

IWLF Secretary General Sahdev Yadav confirmed that Sanjita's 'A' sample has returned positive for a banned substance in an out-of-competition test. He said the dope sample was taken prior to the World Championship in Anaheim (US) in November last year.

The Indian weightlifters had arrived in the US a few days before the Championship to acclimatise with the conditions there.

"The sample was taken out-of-competition in the US prior to the World Championship and the international federation has intimated us on May 15 that Sanjita's 'A' sample has returned positive for a banned substance," Yadav said.

Sanjita got the backing of the IWLF with Yadav saying that he was confident she has not done anything wrong.

"We don't understand why the dope result took so long. After the sample was taken, she competed in the World Championship in November last and then she won a gold in the Gold Coast CWG in April. We will fight it out why this is happening," he said.

"In any case, we have written that we would go for the 'B' sample test. After we got the results we will hire a top lawyer to present our case at the hearing (at the international federation). I am sure Sanjita has not taken any banned drugs. I am confident we will prove her innocence," he added.

Yadav also said that there was no danger of India losing the gold medal won by Sanjita in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

If Sanjita's 'B' sample also tests positive, she is expected to be handed a maximum of four-year ban from the sport.

Sanjita had taken part in the 53kg class in the World Championship in Anaheim (US) in November last year, finishing 13th with a total lift of 177kg.

She lifted a total of 192kg top win the gold in 53kg in Gold Coast. She had also won a gold in the 48kg category in the 2014 CWG in Glasgow.

The 24-year-old Sanjita was on May 9 included in the Sports Ministry's Target Olympic Podium Scheme for funding for her Asian Games preparations. But her name is expected to be struck off from the TOP Scheme list if she is finally ruled to have committed a dope offence.

The latest dope flunk will hit hard Indian weightlifting whose profile has been on the upswing in recent times, especially after Mirabai Chanu's gold medal in 48kg class in the same World Championship where Sanjita tested positive.

After a dope free 2016, one weightlifter -- Sushila Panwar -- returned positive in a test conducted by the international federation. Sanjita's case is the first dope positive result of this year.

Recently, the International Weightlifting Federation has decided to punish dope offending countries to limit their quotas for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after the IOC applied pressure to clean the tainted sport.

It was decided that countries like Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Belarus will be given only two places each at Tokyo 2020 -- as the new rules state that any nation with 20 or more doping violations from 2008 to 2020 will have just one man and one woman at the Games.

Countries with 10-19 doping violations over that same period will be limited to two men and two women in Tokyo. At least nine more countries, including Bulgaria, Iran and India fall into that category.

This decision to limit Olympic quotas, however, will not have much impact on India as the country has not been sending more than two weightlifters each in men and women's sections in the Olympics during the past few editions.

Before Sanjita's case, 12 Indian weightlifters have tested positive in the tests conducted by the international federation from 2008.

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Agencies
July 7,2020

Mumbai, Jul 7: Australias second largest city Melbourne is set to go for another round of lockdown — for six weeks — from midnight Wednesday as the coronavirus has reared its ugly head in Victoria. And this has further confirmed that this years T20 World Cup in Australia is practically not possible. Even as the ICC keeps delaying the announcement, BCCI hopes that the official call will now be taken with this latest development.

Despite ICC's Financial and Commercial Affairs Committee (F&CA) chief Ehsan Mani as well as Cricket Australia making it clear time and again that hosting a T20 World Cup in the October-November window is practically impossible, the ICC hasn't made an official announcement and that hasn't impressed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Speaking to media persons, a BCCI official said that it is only the ICC which has kept speaking about delaying the inevitable — announcing a postponement — even as Cricket Australia chairman Earl Eddings wrote to the international body that it looks highly unlikely that a T20 World Cup can be hosted in these trying times.

"As it is there were so many logistical difficulties and that is perfectly understandable. The Australian government has been addressing the public health issue efficiently and there are regulations in place which are crucial to address the challenges. In that background even Cricket Australia has been practical in their assessment of the situation.

"With this present situation where Melbourne is in lockdown, the ICC really must take the final call of closure on the issue if they have any concept of responsible decision making," the official said.

Not just CA chairman Eddings, but also Mani — who is also the PCB chief — recently told the media that the T20 World Cup cannot be held in a bio-secure environment.

"We have had a lot of discussions and the feeling is it (T20 World Cup) would not be possible this year. ICC has World Cups lined up in 2021 and 2023, so we have a gap year where we can adjust this event. God forbid if some player(s) falls ill or mishap occurs during the tournament, it will have a big impact and create panic in the cricket world and we can't take that risk. Having a bio-bubble environment is feasible for say a bilateral series like Pakistan in England, but it is very difficult when 16 teams are involved," he had said.

Cricket Australia's interim CEO Nick Hockley echoed the sentiments when he said the biggest challenge was to get the players from so many teams into the country.

"Our biggest challenge is getting 15 teams into the country. If I compare it with the prospect of a bilateral tour, you're talking about bringing one team in and then playing individual matches. But the prospect of bringing 15 teams in and having six or seven teams in one city at the same time, it's a much more complex exercise," he had said.

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News Network
March 7,2020

Melbourne, Mar 7: Ahead of the Women's T20 World Cup against Australia, India spinner Poonam Yadav said that skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has given her a lot of support.

"Harmanpreet has been of immense support. When I got hit for a six in the first over, she came to me and said, 'Poonam, you're one of the most experienced players in the team, and we expect better of you'," Poonam said.

The 28-year-old experienced bowler has played 68 shortest format games for India and taken 94 wickets at an average of 22.66.

She has been in devastating form throughout the tournament and has bagged nine wickets so far.

"So, that kind of stirred something within me. I told myself if my captain has that much faith in me, I should be able to make a comeback," she said.

"I took a wicket in the very next ball, and didn't look back since. Now when I look back at that moment, it means so much in the context of my individual performance and run to the final," she added.

In the opening game against Australia at Sydney Showground, Poonam came within a whisker of the third hat-trick in Women's T20 World Cup history, dismissing Rachael Haynes and Ellyse Perry before Jess Jonassen was dropped.

The final of the tournament will be played at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on March 8 -- International Women's Day.

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News Network
June 18,2020

New Delhi, Jun 18: Premier Indian off-spinner R Ashwin has described Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a "massive influence" on his career, revealing that at the beginning of his IPL stint, he was driven by an intense desire to get the former captain's attention.

Ashwin got his contract with CSK, one of the most successful IPL sides, in 2008 and said the stint with CSK shaped his career.

"IPL and CSK is a stage that everyone wants. For me it was more about recognition. MSD did not know who Ashwin is, (Matthew) Hayden and (Muttiah) Muralithan did not know who Ashwin is. The first thing that came to my mind was that 'I will show these people that Ashwin is here'," Ashwin told Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"I don't know it was being foolish or arrogance but that was how I was made. Nobody was giving me a chance that Ashwin will play alongside Muralitharan or ahead of Muralitharan. I thought, I will get there ahead of him one day," he added.

Ashwin said Dhoni, who led CSK, had "massive influence" on him and the only way to impress him was by troubling him in the nets.

"I got the eye of Hayden, Jacob Oram, and Stephen Fleming while bowling to them at the nets. They were finding it difficult to face me in the first year (2008) but I had not caught the eye of MSD," he said.

"I never had massive interactions with him. It was going to the nets and getting MSD...he was hitting Muralitharan out of the park and I thought, if I bowl better than him, I met get to play ahead of Murali.

" I got his attention when I got him during a Challenger trophy and celebrated like a crazy kid," he recalled.

After that, Ashwin said during CSK's match against Victoria Bushrangers in the now defunct Champions League, he volunteered to bowl the Super Over and Dhoni gave him the ball without hesitation.

Ashwin did not fare well and ended up conceding 23 runs. The off-spinner said when Dhoni walked past him after the match, he only said that, "you should have bowled the carrom ball."

"MS always maintained that you are exceptionally skilful and you should keep doing what you do."

Ashwin has been very successful against the left-handers as 189 of his 365 wickets are of southpaws. Ashwin credited his engineering background and advice from Duncan Fletcher for the success.

"He made a statement that changed cricket. He said it's all about geometry and left it at that. Understanding angles (engineering background) has given me edge over others," he said.

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