India's two-time Olympic medal-winning wrestler slams conspiracy theorists; says Narsingh Yadav enjoys police protection and has a coterie of coaches around him leaving no scope for sabotage
Indiau00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0099s two-time Olympic medal-winning wrestler Sushil Kumar.
India's most decorated Olympic wrestler Sushil Kumar has refused to be dragged into the latest controversy involving Indian wrestling.
Also Read: Narsingh Yadav: They can't accept a Mumbai wrestler being so successful
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India’s two-time Olympic medal-winning wrestler Sushil Kumar. Pic/AFP
The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) yesterday revealed Rio Olympics-bound 2015 World Wrestling Championships' bronze medal-winning wrestler Narsingh Yadav failed a dope test conducted by them on July 5 at the Sports Authority of India's (SAI) regional centre in Sonepat, Haryana. It is learnt that both Narsingh's 'A' and 'B' samples had tested positive for the banned substance, methandienone, an anabolic steroid.
Narsingh had earned India a quota for the Rio Olympics by winning a bronze at the World Championships in Las Vegas last year and was selected by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to go for the Games. However, two-time Olympic medal-winning wrestler Sushil had gone to court seeking a selection trial for the 74 kg Olympic spot. A lower court ruled in favour of Narsingh and Sushil did not approach the Supreme Court thereafter. Now, conspiracy theorists are blaming Sushil for Narsingh's downfall, and this has upset the 33-year-old senior grappler.
'I have no support'
"This is sheer irresponsibility on the part of Narsingh. How can anyone believe that my supporters or me are behind this? If I enjoyed that kind of support, would the court and the WFI not have approved my request for a selection trial in the first place? And if I was stubborn or selfish then would I not have approached the Supreme Court with my request for the trial," Sushil told mid-day from New Delhi yesterday.
'We are not kids'
The 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze-winner felt that every athlete is solely responsible for his actions. "We are not kids. Narsingh has been to the London Olympics. He is an experienced grappler, so if he feels that his food was contaminated then he should have been careful about the kind of food he is consuming in the first place. He enjoys police protection from Haryana Police and has a coterie of coaches around him, so where's the scope for sabotage," asked the London Olympics silver medal-winner.
Delayed announcement
In fact, Sushil countered the blame, saying that if there has been any support enjoyed in this whole fiasco, it has been for the Narsingh camp. "The NADA tests were out on July 10, but the news has come out in the media and public eye only yesterday. What took the authorities so long to publicly announce the results of the tests? Were they trying to shield someone," asked Sushil while admitting that it was a sad day for Indian sport.
"I have publicly supported Narsingh and I hope he wins a medal for India at the Olympics, but now I feel very sad for what has happened. India could miss out on the possibility of an Olympic medal and that hurts," Sushil signed off.
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