Three national level lifters of SAI, Lucknow caught for doping

Three national level weightlifters attached to the Lucknow campus of Sports Authority of India (SAI) have been suspended for doping and barred from the facility, its executive director, Sanjay Saraswat, said on Wednesday.

The blood samples of the three, one of them a woman lifter, were tested last month by the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) and it revealed banned substances.

“Following a report from NADA, all three lifters have been banned and debarred with immediate effect, and we have recommended to higher authorities for their permanent removal from the campus,” Saraswat said.

The lifters were already being monitored by officials of the SAI centre since admission a few months ago as they were suspected of bringing prohibited substances into the campus. “In fact, our internal committee, including a sports science expert, had already told us about the suspicious activities of these three, and we confirmed it through the checking of what they carry back in from their weekly outings,” he added.

“The fiancé of that national medallist is reportedly selling banned substances here in a shopping mall and was identified as the key supplier of it to the woman on the campus. We had removed that lifter from the campus for her suspicious activities three months back and only allowed her to rejoin two months after she promised not to repeat the mistakes, but we had an eye on her,” Saraswat said.

He said every packet or luggage of all 169 athletes in different disciplines under the National Centre of Excellence is checked on a routine basis and weekly classes held under the anti-doping awareness campaign for the athletes.