Even while the National Anti-Doping Agency’s disciplinary panel adjourned its hearing on the dope scandal surrounding wrestler Narsingh Yadav to Thursday, the day when Yadav’s Olympic fate will be sealed, the controversy turned murkier with more revelations.
Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Wednesday revealed the names of two junior wrestlers who are alleged to have spiked Olympics-bound grappler Narsingh Pancham Yadav’s food with banned substances. “We suspect Jitesh, who fights in the 75kg category, and Sumit. Both of them live in Chhatarsaal. And one of them has admitted to spiking Narsingh’s food. I can’t say on the conspiracy and can’t say whether they did this on their own or on someone’s asking. We cannot investigate this but we support Narsingh’s demand for a CBI inquiry,” Hindustan Times quoted Brij Bhushan as saying.
Narsingh’s chances of participating in the upcoming Rio Olympics came under a cloud last Sunday when he returned a positive result for a dope test conducted by the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) on June 25.
On Wednesday, he suffered another severe blow as he failed a second dope test. Yadav claimed a conspiracy against him.
“It’s the same substance that was found in the first test. It was unlikely that it would go out of the system,” a Wrestling Federation of Indian source said referring to banned anabolic steroid methandienone.
Yadav was picked over two-time Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar after he won the quota place with a bronze medal in last year’s World Championships. Following the doping storm, Parveen Rana was named as Narsingh’s replacement in the 74kg category, a move that has been approved by United World Wrestling, The Times of India reported.
Yadav’s roommate at the Sports Authority of India Centre at Sonepat in Haryana also tested positive for doping.
Meanwhile, several other reports claimed that a person has already been identified as the one who spiked the food supplements. Supposedly, in June when Yadav was away for a training stint in Bulgaria, an unnamed-as-yet intruder infiltrated the SAI Centre in Sonepat and spiked Yadav’s food.