Narsingh cleared of doping charges, set for Rio Olympics

In a sensational turnaround, Narsingh Yadav was today exonerated of doping charges by the National Anti-doping Agency (NADA), which concluded that he was a victim of sabotage, paving the way for the wrestler's participation in Rio Olympics.
After more than a week of drama which began with Narsingh testing positive for a banned anabolic steroid methandienone in tests conducted on June 25, NADA DG Naveen Agarwal put an end to the suspense on the wrestler's fate by exonerating him.
"We kept in mind that in the past, till June 2, none of his samples were positive. It was inconceivable that one-time ingestion would be of benefit. Therefore the panel is of the view that the one-time ingestion was not intentional," Agarwal said while reading out the verdict.

"The panel concludes that the athlete deserves the benefit of article 10.4 of the NADA's anti-doping code. Keeping in view that he was victim of a sabotage, the panel exonerates the athlete from charges of anti-doping rules of NADA.
Agarwal said the sample collected on July 5 had substantially lower content of the banned substance than the one taken on June 25.
"...The report about indicative estimated concentration of prohibited substance in the sample collected on June 25 has substantially reduced in the sample collected on July 5," he added.

"Important to note that report of the first sample was not known to the athlete till the collection of second sample on July 5. Had the athlete been regularly taking it, the report of July 5 would have been positive to the extent of having the main substance."

A relieved Narsingh said he is eager to go to the Olympics now and win a medal for the country.
"I am very happy and I am hopeful of winning a medal at the Olympics. Truth has won. This will ensure that nothing like this happens with any other player. It is a huge win," Narsingh said.
"I knew I was on the right side and was confident of getting justice," he added.
"To save the country's quota, we sent Parveen Rana's name and told the world body that Narsingh would be sent if he is cleared. Have faith, Narsingh will go to Rio. We had told United World Wrestling (UWW) that once Narsingh is cleared he will replace Parveen Rana," Singh said.

"We are confident that Narsingh will go, the judgement is clear that Narsingh was victim of sabotage. NADA has agreed to this. Narsingh Yadav will go to Rio," he added.
The NADA reached the conclusion after three days of marathon hearings last week during which Narsingh's lawyers argued that the wrestler had been sabotaged by rivals. Narsingh had even filed a police complaint, naming two fellow wrestlers, one of whom is a 17-year-old.
NADA's legal team had also given its arguments against the sabotage theory before the disciplinary committee, stating that the responsibility of keeping his system dope free lay solely with Narsingh.

The panel had summoned two cooks on the request of Narsingh's lawyer Vidushpat Singhania on Saturday to verify the theory of his food being contaminated.
Earlier, the argument put forth by NADA's legal team was that Narsingh was not eligible for remission, which he had been asking for, because he failed to establish that he did not commit any fault or negligence.
Narsingh had been picked by the WFI ahead of two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar for the Rio Games on the basis of him bagging the 74kg Olympic quota berth with a World Championships bronze last year.
Sushil's demands for a trial were rejected by the Federation as well as the Delhi High Court after a lengthy legal battle. On his part, Sushil offered support to Narsingh after today's verdict.

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Narsingh will now have to undergo the reinstatement test by NADA before he can be cleared of going anywhere.
NADA's Director-General said in his statement that the disciplinary panel accepted that Narsingh's amino drink had been sabotaged by a competitor.
Narsingh's lawyer Vidushpat Singhania said no punishment has been imposed on him under article 10.4 of WADA and NADA.
"As per the order, under article 10.4 of the WADA and NADA code, Narsingh has been given no punishment for no fault or negligence. No punishment has been imposed on him for the offence. Both dope tests (June 25 and July 5) have been considered as the first offence.

"The NADA panel accepted the argument that Narsingh's amino drink was spiked during his practice sessions on June 23 and 24 at the SAI Sonepat. The panel accepted that it was not possible for an athlete to keep a watch on his drinks while he is practicing," said Singhania.
When asked whether NADA will appeal to the Anti-doping Panel (of NADA) against this decision of the disciplinary panel, Agarwal hinted that it may not do so.
"Anybody who is party in this case can file an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) within 21 days and that is all I will say," Director General NADA said.

On how the investigation would proceed since it is proved that it was a sabotage, WFI president said,"Today I am not going to think about it. I have never named anyone and whenever media have been hinting at someone, I have always maintained that there could be a third party involvement in the entire episode.
"But at the same time, I would want that the guilty should be punished so that something like this doesn't happen again in future."
Narsingh, meanwhile, said that he was humbled and extremely grateful for the backing that he received.
"I bow down and thank everyone from the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, the Sports Authority of India and the Wrestling Federation of India for their support and assistance. I would also like to specially thank my backers JSW Sports for their unstinting support.

"I would like to thank my lawyers, Vidushpat Singhania and his team, the media and every citizen who lent me their trust. I am deeply touched by all the messages of encouragement that I have received and I will now look to repay them all by putting in a strong show at the Rio Olympics," Narsingh said.