Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 4 (IANS) After two more Indian athletes tested positive Monday, former greats P.T. Usha and Gurbachan Singh Randhawa said the role of coaches, support staff and officials should be thoroughly probed to get to the crux of the entire doping scandal.

Usha and Randhawa also raised doubts over the athletes being sent to Ukraine for training.

“These cases raise serious questions on the credibility of Ukraine as the training center for Indian athletes. Eastern European countries have been in the news for all the wrong reasons since the late 1980s. But we have failed to learn from our mistakes,” Usha told IANS.

Asked whether SAI and Athletics Federation of India officials were equally to be blamed, Usha said: “Obviously. If it was a case of one or two athletes failing the test, I wouldn’t have been surprised. But now eight athletes have tested positive and seven for the same substance.”

Veteran Randhawa said the athletes should not be allowed to get away with lighter punishment.

“The coaches should be penalised if they offer any ill-advice to the athletes,” Randhawa, who came fifth in the 110 metre hurdles at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, told IANS.

“Every athlete knows what substance they are taking. They are lying if they say they are innocent after testing positive for a banned drug. If they know how to prepare for a race and the tactics attached to it, then they also know what they are taking for enhancing their performance.”

“It is most unfortunate that these athletes are getting caught by the day. They have brought disrepute to the country. We as former athletes particularly feel bad whenever these incidents take place,” said Randhawa, a 1962 Asian Games gold medallist.

“The primary reason for the spurt in the number of athletes failing the dope test is that they are are aware of the cash incentives they will showered with if they win medals. The greed is making them do all this,” he said.

Randhawa also said that he is not in favour of these youngsters being sent to Eastern European countries for training. “They should go to countries like Germany and England where the competition is tougher.”

Randhawa lauded the role of National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).

“Doping must be eliminated from this country. NADA is doing good work and they should not be any leniency shown towards any athletes found guilty of doping.”

The latest to fail the tests were CWG and Asian Games gold medallist Ashwini Akkunji, and fellow 400 metres runner Priyanka Pawar, taking the total number of athletes returning positive to a shocking eight.