The spectre of doping surfaced once again during the Senior Wrestling Nationals organized by the Ad-Hoc committee when a medalist bolted upon spotting NADA officials on Monday. The wrestler, having won a medal, evaded the Anti-Doping team’s request for a sample after the final bout, disappearing from the event and failing to return until its conclusion.
Participating in the gold medal match of a non-Olympic men’s freestyle category, the wrestler sported a jersey with a different name. According to The Bridge, post-bout, he hastily fled the venue, discarding his jersey as NADA officials attempted to apprehend him. The pursuit concluded with the wrestler successfully escaping, prompting NADA to consider it a doping violation.
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Efforts to contact the wrestler proved futile as the provided details were inaccurate. While NADA officials remained tight-lipped about further specifics, speculation suggests the wrestler hails from a prominent akhada in Haryana. According to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) regulations, if an athlete tests positive during a national event, they have to report to the Doping control station promptly.
Despite this incident, the sample collection process by NADA proceeded smoothly, with cooperation from other wrestlers. This event, hosted at Jaipur’s Railway Stadium, is unfortunately not the first instance of Indian wrestlers eluding doping tests during competitions.
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