THE disgraced middle- and long-distance runner Sunita Rani may soon get back the medals she won at the Busan Asian Games 2002, those she was stripped of after apparently testing positive for a banned drug.
A meeting of a sub-committee of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) medical commission held on December 25 at Lausanne, Switzerland, which was attended by representatives from the World Anti-Doping Agency (or WADA, which is a body independent of the IOC), reached a consensus about discrepancies in certain tests done at Busan and the poor quality of documentation involved.
Randhir Singh, secretary-general of the Olympic Council of Asia and a member of the IOC, announced in Hyderabad during the recent National Games that Sunita Rani's case was in the process of being cleared by the IOC. Subsequently the Amateur Athletic Federation of India (AAFI) cleared the athlete from Punjab for participation in the National Games.
Sunita Rani was the only athlete to have tested positive for the banned substance Nandrolone at Busan (Frontline, December 6, 2002). She had won the gold in the 1,500 metres race and the bronze in 5,000 m.
Initially, the AAFI and other sports bodies tried to play down the episode and would not openly confirm it. After the verdict was officially known,the AAFI set up a one-man inquiry commission that consisted of a lawyer, Sushil Salwan. The Sports Ministry set up its own inquiry committee comprising largely of senior sports functionaries and bureaucrats. Little was expected to emerge from this inquiry.
The Salwan Commission report stated that there were several procedural flaws and irregularities in the testing of urine samples in Busan, at an IOC-accredited laboratory. Significantly, the report remained inconclusive about Sunita Rani's guilt or otherwise. Its "findings" have now been been more or less upheld by the IOC. It is another matter that only some sections of this report were released, including titles of annexures but not the annexures themselves.
The AAFI approached the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) based at Monte Carlo to present to it the Salwan Commission report. One of the three essential steps in any doping-related disciplinary proceedings prescribed by the IAAF is a hearing.
Some sports commentators ask why such a hearing was not held in Sunita Rani's case. What was held instead was an in-house inquiry, which remained inconclusive. On its part the IAAF's Anti-Doping Commission has sought information from the South Korean authorities. Usually the Commission will contest a national federation's findings only if it feels that a decision to exonerate an athlete is flawed. However, with the IOC delivering a favourable announcement, there is little doubt that the IAAF will fall in line.
T.K. RajalakshmiCOMMents
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