Indian shotputter fails drugs test before Games
NEW DELHI: Shotputter Inderjeet Singh on Tuesday became the second Indian athlete to fail a drugs test in recent days, embroiling the nation's Olympic squad in a doping scandal before next month's Rio Games.
The Asian champion claimed he was the victim of a conspiracy for criticising sports authorities after his A sample taken during routine testing was found to contain a banned substance.
“I am being targeted and it's a clear case of conspiracy against me. My sample has been tampered with,” Singh, a gold medal winner at the Asian Athletics Championships last year, said in a statement.
“Why would I take something which is not good for health?”
“I have been framed because I am outspoken,” the 28-year-old also told Indian TV stations.
An Indian sports official said shotputter Singh tested positive for the banned steroid Androsterone during out-of-competition testing by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) on June 22.
“NADA has informed Inderjeet about the result. If he wants to test his B sample then it has to be done within seven days,” said the official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity.
The positive test comes after revelations that Rio-bound wrestler Narsingh Yadav, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist in the 74kg freestyle category, also failed a drugs test.