WFI pitches in, but maybe it's too late

NEW DELHI: Ideally, Narsingh Yadav should have been busy packing his bags for the Indian wrestling Olympic contingent's final training stint in Georgia on Tuesday. Instead, the wrestler was preparing to put forward his case once again to National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) disciplinary committee. The team leaves for Georgia on Tuesday, while Narsingh is due to appear before the high-powered panel on Wednesday.
The NADA disciplinary committee will meet only to decide the quantum of punishment for Narsingh and not whether he is guilty of any wrong doing or innocent.It is only then Narsingh or WFI can refer the case to the Indian Olympic Association.
Even as the Sports Ministry on Monday, officially trimmed the Indian contingent to 119 from the record 120 athletes earlier, striking off Narsingh's name from the 74 category, the dope saga took a bitter turn when the wrestler, while not taking any names in particular, still hinted at a larger conspiracy behind the scandal that has rocked Indian sport a mere fortnight ahead of the Rio Olympics. "Anybody who can benefit from this could have played a role in this," Narsingh told Times Now adding, "I'm not taking names but I ask for a CBI probe in the matter. I don't have clarity on any issue, but we all know the lobby here is Haryana and there are very few wrestlers like us from outside, so anything is possible," he said, adding, "If I am honest, I should be sent to Olympics and strict action should be taken again those responsible."

"It is incredible that even my roommate and sparring partner Sandeep (Tulsi Yadav) has also tested positive for the same sub stance. He has not qualified; why should he take dope? This is clear sabotage, with pre-planning somebody has spiked our food supplements and that's how we have tested positive," asked Narsingh. On Sunday, the 26-year-old world championship bronze medallist was put under provisional suspension by NADA after he tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid methandienone.
"I was specifically told by the DG SAI (Injeti Srinivasan) that they can organise my camp somewhere else, in Mumbai where I could train freely as there it was dangerous for me here in Sonepat. But I refused saying that I needed good sparring partners as all the weight categories are present here and this was the ideal place to train for an important competition like the Olympics. But I could never imagine things could fall to this level," he said.
As Narsingh claimed sabotage at the SAI Sonepat Centre, some reports claimed that he had even named an official from the centre in his written defence to the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). The establishment was quick to react. "The SAI can't just blindly follow what Narsingh has to say about its officers. He is the one guilty and he is the one who has to prove his innocence first," a top-ranking SAI official told TOI.
"We all want him to go. We will do whatever we can to send him to the Olympics. But everything needs to follow a system," sports minister Vijay Goel said.
The WFI, which stood firmly behind its man in the court against two-time Olympics medalist Sushil Kumar, are hopeful that Narsingh will be able to prove his innocence and be eligible for the Rio Games.
INTRUDER IN THE KITCHEN?
It is learnt that two SAI Sonepat cooks revealed that on June 5, a suspicious incident took place in the mess kitchen when at the time of cooking, somebody added something to the food and it immediately developed a froth. The matter was ignored and taken lightly.
"I've heard of the incident," WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said, adding, "They threw it away and started cooking again. Had that been tested right then, probably we could have avoided this incident."
"It's not WFI's duty to foresee what is happening in the SAI canteen. But I believe it was not brought to SAI official's notice," said Singh, "It was only after the news of Narsingh testing positive became public that all these talks have started. There is CCTV footage to the mess area, SAI should find out who it was, because June 5 incident may have some link to Narsingh testing positive."
"We'll try our best that Narsingh, if proved innocent, be allowed to participate in Rio," added the WFI chief, "The government is also taking the matter seriously. And if there is a possibility of sending a replacement, we will consult the chief coach. For now no reserve names have been sent," he concluded.