The Hindu : Sport : Neelam J. Singh found `guilty'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 25, 2006

Sport

Sport - Sports : General

Neelam J. Singh found `guilty'

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Davaram committee on Monday reviewed its earlier decision on Neelam J. Singh and found her `guilty' of a doping violation at the World championships in Helsinki in August last year.

The committee had last month given the `benefit of doubt' to the Punjab discus thrower but reviewed the decision at the request of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

The IAAF indicated that it would be going in appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) if the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) stuck to its decision. "After studying the clarifications given by the IAAF (on points raised by Neelam's counsel, Sushil Salwan), the consensus was that there was no room to question the report of a positive test," returned by the Helsinki laboratory, said an AFI spokesman on Monday.

He said the decision had been communicated to the IAAF.

No formal meeting

The panel did not meet formally on Monday since all the four members could not be present. Gurbachan Singh Randhawa and Dr. Girish Tyagi, the two Delhi-based members, were available and gave their opinion. The outstation members were consulted on phone, according to the AFI spokesman.

Mr. Walter Davaram, chairman of the panel, when contacted in Chennai, said that he was not aware of the developments.

Neelam was charged with a positive for stimulant pemoline at the Helsinki World championships and had been under provisional suspension. During a seven-month hearing process, her counsel argued that there were any number of discrepancies in the laboratory report and there were procedural irregularities.

IAAF's rebuttal

The IAAF is learnt to have rebutted all the arguments put forward by Mr. Salwan and pointed out that minor irregularities, if any, could not have negated the findings of the laboratory.

Neelam has the right to appeal to CAS within a month of being informed of the decision. She has completed seven months of the two-year suspension that she now faces.

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