NAGERCOIL: Weightlifting as a sport is as individual as they get. One can even call it primitive, for the effort and strength needed to compete is at times savage. Competition is never easy, and perhaps that is why many lifters find the need to take shortcuts so as to gain that added advantage. Even if that shortcut is illegal, and involves doping.
All that came to a head this year, with the sport decimated by doping allegations. Even Olympic champions have been found guilty, and the matter has reached such ridiculous proportions that someone who finished ninth at the 2008 Olympics is now in line for gold. In India too, strict action has been promised against those found guilty. But things aren’t looking rosy, as witnessed at the 69th Men’s and 32nd Women’s National Weightlifting Championships here at the Ponjesly Engineering College in Nagercoil. While the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) did make their presence felt, many officials are unhappy with the way the body is going about its task.
“The Weightlifting Federation of India requested NADA to come and take as many samples as possible. Even a hundred per cent rate was fine with the federation. But NADA seems to have other things in mind, and have barely taken any samples over four days of the event.
That isn’t good, knowing we want to make sure all lifters who make the national camp are clean, or at least cleansed beforehand in case they have accidentally taken substances prior to camp,” said chief national coach Vijay Sharma. It was not up to him to keep track of every ward. “See, I can only train them and make them aware of the implications. Once they are out of my sight, be it at the hostel or outside, I’m not responsible for what they do. So it’s imperative that they’re checked beforehand and things are made clear,” he added.
NADA DG Navin Agarwal didn’t seem to think anything of this, however. “It’s up to NADA how many samples we collect, and the federation doesn’t have a say in this. I can’t think of any reason for angst here, as we’re all working towards a common goal,” said Agarwal.
raviiyer@newidianexpress.com