Wrestler Narsingh Yadav fails dope test, participation at Rio Olympics doubtful

The 26-year-old wrestler’s Olympics accreditation has also been withheld but Narsingh said he is an athlete and he won’t do such stuff with Olympics just 11 days away. Later, he was called for his “B” sample test, which also turned out to be positive. “We will proceed further and I am hoping that the panel will proceed quickly”, Agarwal said. “It’s clearly a conspiracy against him”, WFI sources told PTI.

Agarwal said it was too early to say if Yadav’s Rio hopes are over.

In normal circumstance, media would have hailed this action saying that timely action by National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has saved the country from shame and embarrassment.

The development came as a huge embarrassment for India as Narsingh Yadav was among India’s best bets for Olympic medal. His “A” sample returned a positive result which led to the agency asking for his “B” sample, which also tested positive. We will try to complete the whole thing quickly.

The possibility of Narsingh’s food supplements containing banned substances came as a surprise to many as he and a few other Olympic-bound wrestlers procure them from the same source through an identical route. “I can not speculate on that”, he added. “Its first hearing was held on Friday in which the wrestler was given an opportunity to defend himself”, it said in a release.

The World Championship bronze medallist, who was among the medal hopefuls for the country in Rio, was quick to refute all charges and alleged a conspiracy against him. “People are trying to frame me”, he added. Even the Sports Ministry issued a statement to confirm a failed dope test by an Olympicbound wrestler but desisted from naming Narsingh.

“Respect is to be earned not demanded”, Sushil, a former world champion tweeted without specifying to whom or what exactly was he referring to.

London Olympics silver medallist Sushil Kumar, who had approached the court to persuade the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to grant him a trial against Narsingh to determine India’s representation in the men’s 74kg freestyle category in Rio, launched a stinging criticism of Narsingh.

Narsingh is claiming foul play and in his defence, before the NADA panel, he has brought up the sabotage theory.

Narsingh had to fight a lengthy legal battle with Sushil to get the chance to compete for India at the Olympics.