Hours before he was to be presented the Arjuna Award, triple jumper Renjith Maheswary was told under dramatic circumstances that he will have to wait for the coveted honour till an inquiry on whether he had failed a dope test five years back.
It is learnt that Sports Authority of India officials have told Maheswary that he would not be receiving the award today and if he comes clean after an inquiry, he would be presented with it at a later date.
Maheswary told reporters after meeting Sports Minister Jitendra Singh that he had been asked to wait till Monday.
"I met the Minister and clarified my stand. The minister has asked me to wait till Monday. They have not withdrawn my name from the list of awardees. They are holding it for some clarifications," said the national record holder.
"I have been told (by officials) that it would be better not to attend the presentation function as the award had been put on hold," said Maheswary who is in Delhi with his family members.
"I have done nothing wrong. I deserve the Award. No issues had been raised when I applied for the award in 2010, 2011 and 2012," he said, alleging that efforts were being made to end his sporting career.
Asked if he had failed any dope test, Maheswary replied in the negative, saying that he had taken some medicines as there were some health issues.
It is, however, learnt that Maheswary indeed flunked a dope test during the National Open Athletics Championships in Kochi in September 2008 which was kept under wraps by the Athletics Federation of India.
"Yes, Renjith failed a dope test in 2008 in the 48th National Open Athletics Championships in the test conducted by the AFI. At that time the NDTL was not WADA accredited and we took the sample and sent it to the SAI laboratory. He failed the test for stimulant ephedrine," a top AFI official told PTI.
