India’s Narsingh Yadav is awaiting the hearing of the appeal put forth by the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) before the Court of Arbitration for Sports against the clearance he was given after testing positive for a banned drug.
WADA challenged the clean chit given to Narsingh Yadav by the National Anti-Doping Association after doping scandal broke out regarding the wrestler shortly before his trip to Rio. Although the lawyer who had represented Yadav and prepared his documents before the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) that led to the clearance will not be available in person, the Indian Olympic Association is hoping that he will be able to participate in a video conference, if such a measure is allowed.
Confusion over the appeal
The appeal has left many confused as to why now so close to the time of Yadav’s first bout, which is set to take place on Friday, 19 August, would WADA contest his clean chit. According to ABP Live, once Yadav was cleared of the doping accusation before NADA, a copy of the report should have been sent immediately to WADA, whereas the association only received the copy this week and objected the clearance.
It has yet to be revealed as to why the agency received the copy so late, the President of the Wrestling Federation of India, Bhushan Sharan Singh, has spoken publicly about how he believes the whole situation is fabricated. He said that he and the rest of the federation had respected the legal procedure to ensure that Narsingh Yadav was cleared and could, in fact, proceed to Rio.
“It’s all creation of a section of media who want to end his career. He will very much compete and return with a medal,” he added.
Singh added that Yadav had been permitted to enter the Olympic Village on merit, a privilege only reserved for those whose names have been cleared.
Yadav’s defense argues that the wrestler did not intentionally or voluntarily take the drug but rather that his food was spiked for him to be put out of the competition. Sources from the Indian Olympic Association and the Wrestling Federation of India stated that the only manner in which they would be able to get Yadav to compete on Friday is if they employed the very same basis that Russia was permitted to participate despite the calls to ban them entirely. They stated that there would be no other avenue on which they could rely to get the International Olympic Committee to agree since both his samples came out positive meaning that there would still be a residue of the drug in his system for at least two months from the date he ingested it.
The appeal was set for Thursday at around 11 am at a hotel in Rio. The decision made at the hearing will determine whether Yadav will be allowed to proceed to represent his country in the Men’s 74 kg competition scheduled for Friday.
Source: ABP Live