The Hindu : Sport / Weightlifting : WFI removes Khatri's ban

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 02, 2005

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Sport - Weightlifting

WFI removes Khatri's ban

Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI: Wrestler Mukesh Khatri has been cleared of his alleged `doping violation'.

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), which conducted a hearing in early September following media reports critical of its decision to slap a two-year ban on Khatri, has issued a letter to the wrestler and his employer, Indian Railways, allowing him to be part of national camps and of teams for international competitions.

"We have removed the ban on Khatri after getting representation from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the wrestler himself," said the WFI Office Secretary, Rajinder Gulia.

Jumped the gun

The WFI, without giving Khatri a trial, had banned him for two years from national and international competitions. In a pre-departure test done at the SAI Dope Control Centre, Khatri's urine sample was found positive for probenecid, a masking agent. The WFI had, in fact, jumped the gun by banning him even before Khatri was given the chance to get his `B' sample tested.

Probenecid happened to be in the `specified substances' category and Khatri could easily prove how and why he took the medicine, on a doctor's prescription, while in a camp in Aurangabad. Infractions under `specified substances' could be dealt with by a mere warning.

The WFI letter clearing Khatri was issued on September 28, two days after World championship began in Budapest, Hungary. The World championship runs till October 2.

"I am happy that the WFI has cleared me of the charges but this decision could have come little earlier so that I could have been part of the Indian team for World championship," Khatri told The Hindu.

The international wrestling season for the year comes to an end with the World championship and the wrestler has now been left with the 2006 Asian Games to aim for. The 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne will not have wrestling in its programme.

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