Was on the verge of quitting weightlifting and job after doping charges: Sanjita

She is happy about the provisional suspension being lifted but Indian weightlifter Sanjita Chanu Wednesday said fighting dope charges, a battle that is not yet over, had left her so distraught that she was on the verge of quitting the sport.

The two-time Commonwealth Games gold-medallist got a major reprieve from the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), which lifted the provisional suspension on her imposed last year for a failed dope test in 2017. The 25-year-old's final fate in the matter is yet to be announced by a hearing panel of the world body.

"I am happy that the provisional suspension has been lifted and I am confident that a favourable decision is coming from the hearing panel of the IWF. But at the same time, I am distraught thinking about the mental trauma I went through," Sanjita told PTI from her home in Manipur.

"I was so sad and helpless that I thought of quitting the sport. I told my parents that I will also resign from my job (of a senior TTE in Indian Railways). I could not eat and sleep properly. Life was meaningless for me," she added.

"But somehow my family convinced me that it is better to prove my innocence before taking these extreme steps."