No Arjuna Award for Renjith Maheshwary

The sports ministry Thursday decided against giving the Arjuna Award to triple jumper Renjith Maheshwary after a detailed investigation that revealed that the athlete had indeed failed a dope test during the national championships in 2008.

"The ministry with considerable regret, announces that the Arjuna Award for 2013 will not be conferred on Shri Renjith Maheshwary," the ministry said in a statement.

Maheshwary was earlier selected for the Arjuna Award by the ministry but was later put on standby after media reports claimed that the athlete had failed a dope test in 2008.

"After detailed investigations, the ministry has determined that Maheshwary was found to have used a scheduled" substance (ephedrine) during the 46th National Athletic Championships at Kochi in 2008," said the sports ministry statement.

It said the sample was collected on Sep 8, 2008 and given to the National Dope Testing Laboratory Sep 15, 2008. The lab analysed the the A-sample of Maheshwary Oct 3, 2008 and reported levels of ephedrine far above the expected levels, even when it is consumed for therapeutic purposes.

"Maheshwari had not report using ephedrine for medicinal purposes during the collection of the sample," the statement said.