Firstpost Spodcast Episode 209: Gomathi Marimuthu's positivie dope test, Mary Kom's India Open quarter-final win and more

A young Malaysian side missing the services of ailing legend Lee Chong Wei recovered from 2-1 down to beat India 3-2 in the Sudirman Cup on Tuesday. Chow Mei Kuan and Lee Meng Yean were the heroes for Malaysia after winning the final-rubber women’s doubles. Chow and Lee were 19-15 down against Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy in the second game, but fought back to win the game and take Malaysia to the cusp of the quarterfinals. Indian athlete Gomathi Marimuthu, who won the 800 metres gold at the Asian Championships last month, was handed a provisional suspension yesterday after testing positive for a banned substance. The ‘A’ sample of the 30-year-old runner from Tamil Nadu returned positive for a steroid in the test conducted during the Asian Athletics Championships in Doha. If her ‘B’ sample also tests positive, she faces a maximum ban of four years, on account of it being her first doping offence, while India will lose the gold she won at the Asian Championships. India had won three gold, seven silver and seven bronze medals in the Asian Championships. Veteran Indian boxer and six-time world champion Mary Kom made a successful return to the 51kg category by overwhelming her opponent Mala Rai of Nepal to reach the semi-finals of the India Open boxing tournament on Tuesday. She will be up against fellow Indian and Asian Championships bronze medallist Nikhat Zareen in a blockbuster semi-final as the duo confirmed two medals for India in the tournament. Azerbaijani authorities gave assurances on Tuesday that Arsenal’s Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan can play in the Europa League final against Chelsea in Baku, dismissing fears over his safety due to tensions between the countries. Earlier yesterday, Arsenal announced that Mkhitaryan, who is captain of Armenia’s national squad, would miss the game next week in Baku amid safety fears. The General Secretary of Azerbaijan’s Association of Football Federations, Elkhan Mamedov, said last week that “the Azerbaijani authorities have provided UEFA with guarantees of Mkhitaryan’s safety.” Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a decades-long conflict over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region. Despite a 1994 ceasefire, frequent exchanges of fire along Karabakh’s volatile frontline risk escalating into an all-out war.