Sania Mirza wants AITA to look into Venus Williams issue but AITA won’t rush

September 16, 2016

New Delhi, Sep 16: As reports have emerged that Rio Olympics silver medallist Venus Williams had allegedly been allowed to use prohibited substances under Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs), Sania Mirza has demanded that AITA takes up the matter with the appropriate authorities but the national body says it won’t rush into the matter.

Sania‘Fancy Bears’, a Russian hackers group, has claimed that it has uncovered files which showed that several American athletes, including Venus and her younger sister Serena Williams were allowed to take banned substances by the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) under the TUEs procedure.

Sania and Rohan Bopanna had lost their mixed doubles semifinals in the Rio Olympics to American combo of Venus and Rajeev Ram, who ended up as silver medallists. If any medallist is caught in the dope net, he or she will be stripped of the medal. Then, the medal may be given to the athletes who finished behind the original medallist.

According to sources, Sania’s mother Naseema had called up AITA Life President and ITF Vice President Anil Khanna this morning asking him to look into matter. “She informed that Williams sisters have failed WADA dope test and we should take it up with the IOA and IOC,” a source said.

It has also been learnt that even Ashok Kumar, who is from AITA affiliated unit of Telangana has requested AITA to take up the matter.

A senior AITA functionary confirmed the development but said they can’t rush into the matter since it still needs to be established if Venus is actually at fault. “Based on just some news we can’t make a claim, the process has to be followed. We need to approach IOA, IOA will then take it up to IOC because the Olympics is their purview. We can’t jump the gun,” the office-bearer said.

He cited the example of Russian diva Maria Sharapova, who was recently banned for using banned meldonium. “Something has surfaced. Someone is going to establish the truth, till the truth is established we can’t make a claim. We will have to wait. Whatever needs to be done, we will do it. We are waiting for actual facts to be revealed officially. Like it happened with Sharapova. In this case it is just a news,” he said.

“If the news prove wrong, we will lose face. This is the perfect stand that we have taken. We are not going to rush it.” According to documents released by the Fancy Bears hackers’ team, Venus was allowed to take prednisone, prednisolone and triamcinolone, among others, in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Under WADA Rules, athletes may take substances for which they will procure a Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUE) – waivers that allow them to treat medical conditions with medications that may appear on WADA’s prohibited items list.

It has also been reported that ITF has confirmed that the Williams sisters had permission for the therapeutic use of banned drugs. ITF has also come out in favour of the Williams sisters.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 8,2020

London, Apr 8: England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler has raised more than 65,000 pound (USD 80,000) to help fight the coronavirus by auctioning off his World Cup final shirt.

Buttler's shirt, which he wore when completing the last-ball run-out that saw England beat New Zealand at Lord's last year, was sold to raise money for specialist heart and lung centres provided by the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals in London.

Buttler, who earlier in the showpiece match had hit a fifty and batted in the Super Over, put his long-sleeve keeping jersey up for sale on eBay a week ago.

By the time the auction closed on Tuesday, the shirt had attracted 82 bids with the winner paying 65,100 pound.

Buttler, speaking on Monday, said: "It's a very special shirt but I think it takes on extra meaning with it being able to hopefully go to the emergency cause.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 21,2020

Melbourne, Jul 21: Cricket Australia's chief executive Nick Hockley has said that the Indian players and staff will most likely be asked to face two weeks of quarantine before the four-match Test series.

This scenario will bring the Adelaide Oval and its newly constructed hotel firmly into view as the sort of biosecure bubble, ESPNCricinfo reported.

India and Australia are slated to face each other in a four-match Test series, which is to begin from December 4 at Brisbane.

"The two-week quarantine is pretty well-defined. What we are working on is making sure that even within that quarantine environment, the players have got the absolute best training facilities, so that their preparation for the matches is as optimal as it can possibly be," ESPNCricinfo quoted Hockey as saying.

"Certainly the fact that the Adelaide Oval has a hotel. It does provide a facility not dissimilar to Old Trafford or Ageas Bowl where the hotels are integrated into the venue," he added.

Hockley also said that an exacting standard of biosecurity and testing would be applied before the series against India as the coronavirus cases are spiking in the subcontinent.

"It's widely known and it's unlikely that international travel restrictions would have lifted by the time that India will be due to come into the country. Clearly there will be testing regimes. We will be able to test people before that they get on to the plane and it is the nature of the situation of making sure we have the quarantine arrangements in line with government and health authority protocols," Hockley said.

"The key thing for the players is that there's regular testing and that we appropriately quarantine them when they come in and all of those plans are currently in development," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced the postponement of the T20 World Cup 2020 slated to be held in Australia from October 18-November 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Following the announcement, the BCCI is likely to go ahead with the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the October-November window. However, it is known where the T20 tournament will be played as cases continue to rise in India.
"I think the BCCI has made no secrets that they are considering what that means for the IPL. For us, it's about getting a bit of an understanding and certainty around what that means. Clearly, in a normal course, some of our best players are obviously top picks for those IPL teams," Hockley said.

"It's a bit premature to speculate on that. We need to understand what the plans are if any and once we understand that we will make decisions accordingly," he added.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 18,2020

Karachi, May 18: Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan believes it is at least five years too early to compare Virat Kohli and Babar Azam as the Indian skipper has proven himself in "every kind of situation" and the latter has not.

"Virat Kohli is far more experienced than Babar. He has at least five years more experience of top cricket and he is at the peak of his career," said Younis, Pakistan's leading run-getter in Tests.

"Kohli has far more exposure than Babar and he has been in every kind of situation and proven himself. No one gets 70 international centuries like that and this are proof of his class and abilities. He has scored runs in every situation and all opposition."

Younis said said Babar still has a long way to go.

"Babar has been in top cricket for just around five years. He has got a very impressive batting average across all three formats and he is getting better by the day.

"You see him batting and you can see he has got the same qualities that Kohli had at the start of his career."

Besides amassing 70 international hundreds, 31-year-old Kohli averages more than 50 in all three formats. The India skipper has scored more than 20,000 runs while 25-year-old Babar has 6680 runs across formats though the Pakistan limited overs skipper has played significantly lesser number of games.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.