Indian Sports Minister Ajay Maken said on Wednesday said double Asian Games gold medalist Ashwini Akkunji‘s name has been struck off from the list of nominees for this year’s Arjuna Award following her dope flunk.

“The Committee on Arjuna Awards will decide on who would be conferred the award. But SAI will scrutinised the list and this year Ashwini Akkunji will not be considered as her ‘B’ sample has also tested positive (for anabolic steroid),” Maken told a press conference.

From Timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

Akkunji and seven other track and field athletes returned positive for anabolic steroids in the tests conducted in May and June by the IAAF and National Anti-Doping Agency in one the worst doping scandals of the country.

Maken said the dope scandal had affected the medal hopes of the country in the 2012 London Olympics.

Maken said, “The dope scandal has affected us. We would have won medals from some of them. They were medal hopefuls.”

Tags: anabolic steroid, anabolic steroids, Arjuna Award, Ashwini Akkunji, dope, doping scandals, IAAF, London Olympics

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The battle to keep the London Olympics drug-free has started long before the opening ceremony next July.

A sophisticated laboratory provided by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Britain’s largest drugmaker, is ready and waiting.

From Reuters.com:

“We have a state-of-the-art facility, we have the best detection systems going, we’re right up to date with the science, and if athletes know you’ve got good testing and good detection systems, it really has a deterrent effect,” said David Cowan, head of the Drug Control Centre at King’s College London and the man who will oversee London 2012′s anti-doping regime.

His staff, which he has expanded to include eight times as many scientists as he would normally have, are aiming to conduct more than 5,000 tests at the London Olympics – roughly one for every two of the 10,000 or so athletes expected to take part.

As the science of detecting doping advances, athletes who cheat by using performance-enhancing drugs are devising ever more sophisticated doping regimes.

The drugs of choice for cheats range from anabolic steroids to human growth hormone, blood boosters such as erythropoietin (EPO), beta-blockers and stimulants, or diuretics.

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The dreams of dope tainted athlete Ashwini Akkunji in concern to her participation in the London Olympics received a jolt as her ‘B’ sample also tested positive for anabolic steroids.

She now faces the prospect of a two-year ban for her offence.

From Timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

Ashwini and Priyanka had their ‘B’ samples tested on Thursday at the National Dope Testing Laboratory and the results, which came on Monday, confirmed the presence of methandienone in them.

“We have received papers from the NADA that both Ashwini and Priyanka’s ‘B’ samples have tested positive for the same anabolic steroids found in their ‘A’ sample,” Athletics Federation of India Director M L Dogra said.

Ashwini and Priyanka, who were caught for doping just hours before they were to leave the country for the July 7-10 Asian Athletics Championships in Japan, will now be heard by a NADA Disciplinary Panel.

Both have been provisionally suspended by the AFI pending the decision by the NADA panel.

Tags: anabolic steroids, Ashwini Akkunji, Asian Athletics Championships, doping, London Olympics

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One of Australia’s premier anti-doping experts and the manager of the only World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratory in Australia, Dr Catrin Goebel, concede that it will still be difficult to know if a gold medal-winning athlete at next year’s London Olympics could be tainted by drugs.

Goebel, however, remarked that she has no doubts they would eventually be caught, and that testing is now barely a step behind, if not in front, of the cheats.

From Smh.com.au:

”What we are testing for and what the athletes are possibly taking … we are very close now, if not in front …

”In the past the difficultly was more the instrumentation, detecting levels and understanding of the human body. When you go back to the ’80s when Ben Johnson was caught, that was when the laboratories were getting a better understanding of anabolic steroid metabolism.

”Lots of anabolic steroids are fully metabolised so you can’t see any of their parent compound, so you have to test for the metabolite and until we got that understanding, you weren’t going to be able to find anyone.

”I honestly think if there was something these days that athletes were taking, I don’t think it would be that far away from us any longer,” she said.

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The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) of India has issued a warning to athletes and coaches that the Agency will now be forced to raid their rooms in national camp.

“This is the limit and it is disturbing that two of our best athletes ( Mandeep Kaur and Juana Murmu) have tested positive for banned drugs. If this trend continues we will be forced to conduct raids at the national camps,” NADA chief Rahul Bhatnagar told TOI.

From Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

The NADA chief said during the inter-government meeting on doping held in Saudi Arabia in May, he had talked about the respective national anti-doping organisations being kept in the loop in case the tests are conducted by international federations. “They should also keep us informed. Otherwise, when they go to the camps we get calls from various SAI centres asking who these people are. Also in the result management, the hearings should be conducted by the NADA panel,” Bhatnagar said.

‘B’ sample positive: Meanwhile, the ‘B’ sample results of both Mandeep and Juana returned positive for banned anabolic steroids in out-of-competition tests conducted at NIS, Patiala. While Mandeep tested positive for methandienone and stanozolol, Juana, who finished fourth in 400m hurdles at the Asian Games, was caught for using methandienone.

The National Anti-Doping Agency is determined to ensure that all the athletes training for the London Olympics are clean, said NADA chief Rahul Bhatnagar.

Tags: anabolic steroids, Juana Murmu, London Olympics, Mandeep Kaur, methandienone, NADA, stanozolol

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Two of the quartet of golden athletes from India have tested positive for steroids as the dope cloud over Indian athletics grew darker.

After Mandeep Kaur who had tested positive two days ago, Sini Jose was found to have used anabolic steroids.

From Timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

The latest doping scandal involving leading athletes is sure to hit India’s preparations for the London Olympics, where the women relay runners were expected to put up a good show. Another athlete, Tiana Mary Thomas, became the fourth 400m runner to fail the test – the other being Juana Murmu. Juana’s sample collected by the National Anti-Doping Agency also returned positive, tightening the noose further around the athlete who had earlier failed two tests conducted by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Other athletics caught doping by NADA were long jumper H Muralidharan and shot putter Sonia, taking the total number of tainted athletes in the past week to six. All samples, except that of Harikrishnan, were taken during the June 11-14 National Inter-State Athletics Meet in Bangalore.

The four tainted 400m runners were training under Ukrainian coach Yuri Ogorodnik and the flurry of positive results come after his return to take charge of the elite athletes training in Patiala for the London Olympics.

“All six tainted athletes have been provisionally suspended by NADA,” said M L Dogra, director, Athletics Federation of India.

Tags: anabolic steroids, athletics, Juana Murmu, London Olympics, Mandeep Kaur, Sini Jose, steroids, Tiana Mary Thomas

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Katsuya Kitamura, a leading Greco-Roman Japanese wrestler, has been banned for duration of two years after being found guilty of doping.

The ban means that the wrestler who tested positive to anabolic steroids is now out of next year’s London Olympics after banned by the Japan Anti-Doping Agency.

From Insidejapantours.com:

The Japan Anti-Doping Agency implemented the ban – for testing positive for anabolic steroids – on Monday (June 13th), ruling Mr Kitamura out of next year’s London Olympics.

Yuji Takada, who is the general secretary of the Japan Wrestling Federation, said the organisation will work to ensure others are not taking performance-enhancing drugs.

“We never thought our wrestlers were buying supplements from overseas,” he said.

“We’ve become trouble for the sports community with the London Olympics right around the corner. We will work to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Earlier this year, twenty five wrestlers and other people involved in the sport were severely punished for being involved in the match-fixing in Japanese sumo wrestling.

Tags: anabolic steroids, doping, Katsuya Kitamura, London Olympics, wrestling

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Katsuya Kitamura, the three-time Japanese Greco-Roman wrestling champion, will miss the London Olympics next year after he was banned for two years.

The 25-year-old was banned on June 13, 2011 after testing positive for anabolic steroids.

From Reuters.com:

The triple 96-kilo national champion, the first Japanese wrestler to fail a drugs test, told Japan’s anti-doping agency JADA he took the substance by accident after buying supplements abroad.

“We never thought our wrestlers bought supplements from overseas,” Japan Wrestling Federation (JWF) general secretary Yuji Takada told local media.

“This has smeared the sports community with the London Olympics coming up. We will take measures to ensure this does not happen again.”

Kitamura — who the JWF said tested positive for the banned muscle-building substance drostanolone — is not expected to appeal the ban, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported.

The wrestler has represented Japan at two world championships without winning a medal.

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Double Olympian Liza Hunter-Galvan would not try to qualify for the London Olympics despite an international court ruling clearing the way for those who have served doping bans.

“I’m not sure if I have good or bad feelings about the ruling, because I don’t care any more,” the marathon runner said.

From Nzherald.co.nz:

The 42-year-old won the Christchurch Marathon in June after a two-year ban for taking the blood-booster erythropoietin (EPO) in 2009 but suspects she would not be welcome if she did qualify.

“In a nutshell how do you chase a spot that isn’t there?” Hunter-Galvan said. “Whether the ban was lifted or not I realise that the biggest hurdle I face is not my age, desire, commitment, injuries, qualifying standard, financial burden, or [the] poor choice I made. Rather it lies in being accepted.

“I have no interest in going through another legal battle, they take a toll on your soul,” the runner said, a reference to the Beijing Olympics where she placed 35th after appealing her earlier non-selection to the Sports Tribunal.

Hunter-Galvan is the only New Zealander to have tested positive to EPO, which is abused in sport for stimulating the production of red blood cells that boosts the amount of oxygen delivered to the muscles.

Tags: Beijing Olympics, EPO, erythropoietin, London Olympics

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LaShawn Merritt, the Olympic 400m champion, has been handed over a ban of 21 months after he was found making use of over-the-counter products.

Merritt returned three positive drug tests and will only be eligible to compete again on 27th July, 2011 that means that he will be free to defend his defend his title at the London Olympics.

From Guardian.co.uk:

Merritt, who also won the world 400m title in Berlin last year, admitted using an over-the-counter male enhancement product containing dehydroepiandrosterone and pregnenolone.

The American Arbitration Association’s ruling confirmed Merritt had demonstrated at his hearing his positive tests were as a result of taking a product, ExtenZe, which he bought at a convenience store, and that he did not take it to enhance his track performance.

“He wasn’t training so he wasn’t thinking about track,” the ruling said. “His mind-set when purchasing the product was thinking about having sex with a woman. It never entered his mind that the product contained a steroid derivative. He admitted he did not look at the label.”

Merritt was devastated when he found out what had caused his positive tests.

The ban on Merritt was backdated to 28 October 2009.

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