New Delhi: The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has filed an appeal with the National Anti Doping Appeal panel, seeking a life ban on boxer Manjeet Singh.
Manjeet was given a two-year suspension for a second doping offence by the National Anti Doping Disciplinary panel on August 23 last. The Railway boxer had appealed that decision, seeking exoneration, and his case was scheduled to come up on October 11.
Manjeet, a 22-year-old international boxer, had tested positive for steroid clostebol in July last year during an out-of-competition test at Patiala.
The hearing panel ruled that the level of the banned substance found in his urine sample was too high to have been caused by the application of an ointment as claimed by the boxer.
Manjeet argued that clostagen ointment was applied by the NIS medical staff instead of soframycin prescribed by the doctor, leading to the ‘positive' test. He produced documents to claim that the medical records were fudged after the negligence of the staff was found out.
The WADA appeal is based primarily on the same argument as that of the disciplinary panel that contended that the athlete had failed to prove how the banned substance got into his body.
The WADA stated in its appeal that since the present violation and the past one concerned steroids, it could see no reason how there could be a reduction in the sanction from the “maximum applicable.”
Courtesy: The Hindu