Sumit Sangwan, one of India’s most talented boxers, dreams of representing the country at the Tokyo Olympics were floored on Thursday after he was banned for one year. The Olympian and National Champion (91 kg) Sangwan was banned for one year by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). Sangwan had represented India at the 2012 London Olympics.
On October 10, during an investigation at Senior Nationals in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, acetazolamide was found in his urine sample. Along with him, shooter Ravi Kumar, who helped the country shoot bronze at the Asian and Commonwealth Games, was also banned for doping.
In the sample of this 29-year-old rifle shooter, a beta-blocker was found which is banned by World Anti Doping Agency. Beta-blocker reduces blood pressure which helps in focusing during shooting.
According to NADA’s statement the ban on Sangwan has been implemented from 26 December 2019 as On this day, the Anti-Doping Discipline Committee of NADA has issued its order. This means that Sangwan, who was preparing for the Tokyo Olympics, will not be able to participate in the national trials for men’s Olympic qualifiers.
The trials for men’s Olympic qualifiers are scheduled to be held in Bareilly on 29-30 December. The boxers selected in this would be given a chance to play for India in the Tokyo qualifiers to be held in Wuhan, China from February 3 to 14.
NADA DG Naveen Aggarwal took to twitter to inform about the ban on Sangwan as he tweeted, “Sumit Sangwan banned for 1 year with immediate effect for consuming specified prohibited substance.”
Earlier, another Indian boxer Neeraj Phogat, was temporarily suspended after failing a dope test before Sumit. The female boxer who was also an Olympic hopeful was found guilty of consuming performance-enhancing drugs ligandrol and other anabolic steroids. Neeraj won a bronze in the Stranza Memorial tournament in Bulgaria this year and a gold medal in a tournament in Russia.
