ONLY ONE participant within the closing of the boys’s 100 metres; a steeplechase athlete who saved working after crossing the end line to evade dope testing; a number of winners skipping the medal ceremony as they have been nervous about being requested to provide samples.
The closing day of the Delhi State Athletics Championship (September 23-26), on the warm-up monitor of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium within the nationwide capital, was a cat-and-mouse sport between athletes and doping management officers on Tuesday.
The variety of contributors fell by half as information unfold that National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) officers had dropped in, a day after a purported video clip of the washroom on the stadium confirmed piles of used syringes.
“We have eight finalists in the track events, but only three or four turned up (on Tuesday). This is the state of affairs. In the junior steeplechase event, a girl continued to run even after crossing the finish line. A doping control officer had to chase her to get her sample,” a senior coach advised The Indian Express.
In the boys’s 100-metres closing, Lalit Kumar was the lone athlete on the beginning blocks. The remainder of the seven sprinters, Kumar stated, advised him they have been affected by “cramps” or “muscle strain”.
For Kumar, who was competing in his first senior-level occasion, the sudden disappearance of his fellow rivals was an eye-opener. “I was really looking forward to running against the best athletes, but nobody turned up. Everyone was scared of getting tested. As an athlete, I feel very hurt and let down,” he advised The Indian Express.
“It’s the first time I saw a 100-metres event with just one participant. As soon as the NADA officials arrived, the number of participants dropped to 50 per cent,” stated an official who has been related with the game for 3 many years.
In the Under-20 boys’ 100-metres closing, solely three of the finalists turned up. The Under-16 boys’ hammer throw noticed only one participant.
“Some of the athletes did not even turn up to collect their medals,” stated Delhi State Athletics Association president Sunny Joshua.
Joshua stated they have been involved concerning the dropouts, however there was little they might do. “Our job is to educate the athletes and coaches, but we can’t constantly monitor what they are doing during practice or behind our backs. Doping in athletics is a huge menace and we are firmly against it,” he stated.
Meanwhile, empty packets of Recombinant Human Erythropoietin (EPO) injection, which is used as a efficiency enhancing drug, could possibly be seen within the washroom on Tuesday.
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“This is a prescription drug that is used in the treatment of anaemia. But chemists don’t care, and athletes get it over the counter. The drug boosts haemoglobin in the blood and can help endurance athletes,” stated Dr P S M Chandran, a sports activities medication professional.
EPO utilization can have adversarial results, together with inflicting injury to the blood circulation system, he warned. “Athletes don’t care about the effects. They just want shortcuts,” he stated.
Coach Arvind Kapur, who has educated 400-metres and 4×400 metres relay specialist Amoj Jacob, stated: “Sometimes a coach gives an extra workout to young athletes knowing that they are going to compete against dopers, and that can cause injuries. I always tell my athletes to wait patiently. There are no shortcuts.”
