Narsingh Yadav doping scandal: All you need to know about the controversy

The Narsingh Yadav doping controversy took an interesting turn on Wednesday when it was alleged that a junior wrestler from Sushil Kumar’s training base had spiked his food that caused him to fail his dope test conducted by NADA.

Narsingh, who managed to edge two-time Olympic medal winner Sushil Kumar for a berth in the 74kg category in the Indian Olympic contingent, had filed a complaint with the Sonipat Police Station, mentioning the name of the culprit. The junior wrestler is alleged to have contaminated the food meant for him at the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) Sonipat centre in Haryana.

Who is the accused?

According to a report published on NDTV , the accused trains at the Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi, and visits the SAI Sonipat centre as a sparring partner. The report further reports that he has represented India as a wrestler in the 75kg at junior level, and is the brother of an international wrestler in the super-heavyweight category.

The accused, who was said to have infiltrated into Narsingh’s room when the latter was away in Bulgaria with the Indian team, is said to have confessed to the crime.

What is the substance that got him banned?

The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) conducted a random dope test on Narsingh on 5 July at the SAI’s Sonipat centre. The report of his ‘A’ sample test was positive for methandienone, a banned anabolic steroid. Later, he was called for his ‘B’ sample test, which also turned out to be positive.

Methandienone, the steroid that got Narsingh into trouble, helps gain strength and weight, and helps gain potassium and muscle dimensions, according to a report on the official website of the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), part of the United States National Library of Medicine.

The drug, which was originally developed in Germany and was later introduced in the USA in the 1960s, was quite popular among American bodybuilders, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronnie Coleman, etc.

Who replaces Narsingh?

After provisionally suspending Narsingh and holding back his accreditation, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) informed the United World Wrestling (UWW) of their intention of naming  Parveen Rana as the replacement for Narsingh in the 74kg category.

The 23-year-old , who is a former junior world medallist, will head to Georgia with the India team on Wednesday and train with them for the remaining part before Rio Games.

The incident, which was followed by another dope shocker in shot-putter Inderjeet Singh’s failed test , drew reactions from several sections of the society, whether Narsingh’s fellow wrestlers, wrestling/olympic authorities, ministers or even family members.

Let us take a look at what they had to say:

Narsingh Yadav:

Narsingh has cried foul ever since the news of him failing the dope test broke out. On Tuesday evening, Narsingh filed a complaint with the police, following which he claimed that his food supplements were tampered with at the SAI’s Sonipat Centre.

“I am ready to face the NADA committee because I am confident that there is foul play. I want the guilty to be caught because I have never failed a dope test,” Narsingh said ahead of his meeting with a National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) disciplinary panel on Wednesday.

Sushil Kumar:

Sushil, who won a bronze and silver respectively in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, described the dope scandal that put Narsingh’s Olympic hopes in jeopardy as “unfortunate”.

“I wanted to win a third medal for India but for the past one month, I have been away from preparations for Olympics. I have instead been supporting my fellow wrestlers in the hope that they would bring a medal for the country,”  Sushil was quoted as saying in a video posted on his Twitter account.

Yogeshwar Dutt:

Dutt was among those who came out in support of Narsingh during the scandal, stating that he was sure that the 26-year-old grappler from Mumbai couldn’t do something like this.

“I am very sad about the state of wrestling. This matter should be investigated. I am sure that Narsingh cannot do something like this,” Dutt, who won a bronze in the 2012 Olympics, wrote on his Twitter account .

Wrestling Federation of India (WFI):

Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhusan Sharan Singh on Monday backed dope-tainted grappler Narsingh Yadav, claiming that he was framed, while the central government opted to wait for the probe to complete.

“I believe Narsingh is an innocent guy. He can’t do it. He has been tested so many times in the past also, and had never failed any test. I am sure it’s a conspiracy,” Singh told reporters .

“We want justice for Narsingh. If he has said he did not take drugs, he must be heard. I hope the committee does justice to Narsingh,” he added.

NADA:

National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) director general Navin Agarwal maintained that the agency could not have messed up at their end when it came to conducting the tests, emphasising that he had never come across any ’tampering’ in his association with the organisation.

“If any athlete feels their samples were tampered with, they can get their ‘B’ sample tested. In my experience I have never come across a case of tampering. There is absolutely no possibility of tampering as the system is foolproof,” Agarwal was quoted as saying according to India Today .

Union Sports Minister:

Sports Minister Vijay Goel on Wednesday said that no player in the Olympics squad can be substituted if he or she has been suspended by an anti-doping panel.

“I don’t think any person is allowed as replacement of another, if the original player has failed the dope test,” Goel told reporters in parliament.

“In case a player is seriously unwell, then under extraordinary circumstances the concerned agency considers substituting another player,” the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader added.