Bathinda, November 14
Fearful of getting trapped in a doping scandal of international ramifications, the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has decided not to field national team in the forthcoming World Weightlifting Championship slated to be held in Goyang (Korea) from November 18 to 29.

It for the first time in the history of the sport that blood testing will be introduced at the Goyang championship. A lifter, who has used International Olympic Committee-banned drugs in the last two years, can be easily caught in such a test.

Indian lifters already have egg on their faces by being repeatedly caught in dope testing. “In blood doping, extra red blood cells deliver more oxygen and other essential elements to the athlete’s muscle tissues, which means more stamina and endurance. In a competitive sport such as weightlifting, the difference between winning and losing can often be a matter of better conditioning, not skill or strategy,” claimed a sports medicine doctor.

However, IWF officials were quick to wash their hands off the decision of not sending the contingent to Goyang with the federation secretary-general Sqd Ldr BR Gulati (retd) claiming that the team was being withdrawn on ‘administrative grounds”. He also disclosed that the lifters were tired after their participation in the Commonwealth Championship held in mid-October in Malaysia where India won 27 medals, including 16 gold.

However, a top Indian lifter pointed out: “Scratch the surface a bit and it is clear that the IWF is not too keen to participate because it knows that many of its lifters have ugly doping records. And no one can escape in blood testing. Already six lifters have been caught using banned drugs during tests conducted by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) over the past one year.

Eyebrows were also being raised over the Sports Ministry’s clearance to the squad. The International Federation’s executive board is to meet a day ahead of the Goyang meet where it will be decided whether to ban the Indian team from taking part in international meets due to their murky doping past or not.