Shot putter Inderjeet Singh gets 4-year ban for dope violation

The anti-doping disciplinary panel of NADA today handed a four-year suspension to shot putter Inderjeet Singh for failing a dope test prior to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

The panel though admitted that NADA and NDTL did not follow the standard WADA norms while collecting the sample, as claimed by Inderjeet, but concluded that the athlete could not prove that he didn't violate anti-doping norms.

Inderjeet, who was one of the first athletes to qualify for the Rio Games, was provisionally suspended on July 26, 2016 after both his urine samples showed 'Adverse Analytical Finding' (AAF) for banned performance-enhancing substances -- androsterone and etiocholanolone.

The three-member panel concluded that he has violated article 2.1 of anti-doping code. A copy of the verdict is in possession of PTI.

"We uphold the violation of article 2.1, resulting in ineligibility of the athlete for a period of four years, commencing from the date of his provisional suspension," the panel ruled.

The panel in their verdict observed: "Article 2.1 states 'It is the athlete's responsibility that no prohibited substance enters his body. The fact that athlete has earlier tested negative for banned substances is not a valid consideration for evaluating any AAF in current list. His intent, negligence or otherwise is secondary as it is for the athletes to disprove the findings is an AAF."