The Hindu : Sport / Athletics : Pre-departure testing unethical: Randhir

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Friday, Aug 19, 2005

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Sport - Athletics

Pre-departure testing unethical: Randhir

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Rattled by the adverse publicity that the Neelam J. Singh doping controversy had caused to Indian sports, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Secretary-General, Randhir Singh, called in the media at short notice on Thursday, to explain the National Olympic Committee's stand on the subject of doping.

Concerned that the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) was keeping track of the developments in India, Randhir sought to distance himself from the pre-departure testing that had been a topic of concern all these years for the anti-doping lobby. "It is unethical, but we are fulfilling only a Government requirement," he said.

He was responding to a question about WADA's concern regarding the pre-departure testing and its stand that it would in due course advise the Delhi laboratory to stop such practice.

Randhir also sounded enthusiastic about sending urine samples to accredited laboratories abroad and said that he would soon write to the Government about it so that a minimum number of samples could be tested in such laboratories. " We can make a start from the next National Games," he said.

For the rest, the IOA Secretary-General who is also a Board member of WADA and the Secretary-General of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) tried to defend his body as well as the National federations and said that they were all doing their best to curb the menace of doping. He said that the Dope Control Centre (DCC) had been put on "probation" by WADA and the accreditation process could get completed within one or two years. An amount of 45,000 dollars was to be deposited and the Government would be approached, he said.

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) Secretary, Lalit Bhanot, said that Neelam had not approached his federation so far for a hearing, though an official intimation had been sent to her. He added that a hearing panel was almost finalised but he would not be able to disclose names until the athlete made a request for a hearing.

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