AFI plan for swift return of dope-tainted Ashwini nixed

Athletics Federation of India's plan to include dope-tainted Ashwini Akkunji in the women's 4x400m relay team in the ongoing Asian Championships here was today nixed by the competition technical delegate on the ground that it would violate IAAF rules.
Plans were afoot to draft Akkunji, whose two-year ban for a doping offence committed in 2011 ended on Wednesday, into the women's 4x400m relay team to raise hopes of a gold medal in the event.
An AFI top official had, however, denied yesterday that there was any plan to include Akkunji in the women's 4x400m relay team.
Under a High Court order, Akkunji and some other dope-tainted athletes caught together two years back had been training at NIS Patiala and so would have been ready in any eventuality.

But, one of the two-member competition technical delegate, Yukio Seki from Japan told PTI that no athlete would be allowed to be included now as doing that would violate the IAAF and AAA competition rules as the final entries have been frozen on June 20.
"It is not possible to include any additional member from India or for that matter any other country after the deadline of final entries (on June 20). Doing that would be a violation of IAAF as well as AAA competition rules," he said.
"The meeting of technical delegates of all the countries held before the Asian Championships also decided that no additional member from any country will be allowed after June 20 and once the competition starts," he said.

"For relay events, under new IAAF Rules, any four from the squad whether he or she is a track athlete or a long jumper or pole vaulter can run. But all the four will have to be from among the final entries given on the deadline of June 20 and not from outside," he added.