Dutee Chand has been banned by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for four years for failing two out-of-competition dope tests for a banned substance. The two-time Asian Games silver medallist and 100m national record holder has two weeks within which to file an appeal, with her counsel, Parth Goswami confirming her intention to challenge the decision.
Dutee was served the ban on Thursday - after two samples taken in December last year were found to contain "other anabolic agents/SARMS", which is listed under "WADA's 2023 prohibited list of non-specified substances".
The samples were taken on December 5 and 26 respectively and both returned positive for almost identical substances. Dutee's ban will be effective from January 3 this year and all her competitive results will be scrapped from the date the first sample collection took place (December 5, 2022).
Dutee's counsel, Parth Goswami told PTI on Friday that the sprinter had been a "clean athlete" all her professional career and it was a case of "unintentional consumption". The athlete had won silver medals in 100 and 200m at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games and holds the national record of 11.17 sec in 100m (2021).
"For us, this is a clear case of unintentional consumption of a banned substance. We were clearly able to establish the source of the substance in the body, which is a substantial proof of lack of intent. The substance was never used to gain any sporting advantage," said Goswami.
"We are in process of filing an appeal. We are hopeful that we will be able to convince the appeal panel," he added. Dutee has two weeks within which to file the appeal.
"Dutee is the pride of India and is a clean athlete. She has had an illustrious career of over a decade. She has undergone hundreds of dope tests internationally and nationally and has always been clean in her long career," added Goswami.
'Unintentional consumption'
Dutee and her counsel had also claimed before NADA's Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) that it was a case of "unintentional consumption".
"The athlete and her counsel had without refuting the findings of the NDTL (National Dope Testing Laboratory) report stated that the consumption of the said substance was unintentional and the ingestion of the same had been advised by the physiotherapist who was being regularly consulted by the athlete," said the ADDP order.
"The athlete and her counsels submitted that the said physiotherapist had been attached with the athlete from the Pullela Gopichand Academy where the athlete was training under special permission." Dutee's counsel had submitted that the sprinter was "hyperandrogenic" owing to which she was having "severe groin pain" because of which the treatment was recommended.
ADDP said that the athlete had "delegated the task of purchasing the drugs to her friend", who was also a witness in the case.
"(The witness) before giving his deposition had submitted an affidavit where he stated that he himself went to the shop to buy the said supplement for hormonal disbalance but, on the contrary, during his cross-examination (the witness) denied buying the said supplement in person but rather re-delegating to his manager," ADDP noted.
"The admitted fact on the affidavit placed before the ADDP and the cross-examination of the witness highlights there are glaring contradictions in the fact put forth before the panel by the witnesses, thereby raising legitimate concerns regarding the reliability of the statements made by the witness," said ADDP order.
'Told I had cancer'
Dutee later said that she was told by a doctor in November 2021 that she had level 1 cancer.
"While competing in the National Inter-State Championships before the Tokyo Olympics (2021), I felt a lot of pain in the groin area. I consulted some doctors but the pain did not go. I went to Olympics (July-August, 2021) and could not do well there," she told PTI from Bhubaneswar.
"After returning from the Olympics, the pain kept increasing. I did an ultrasound in November 2021. Nothing came in the ultrasound. Then I got an MRI scan done and the doctor (Sudeep Satpathy) told me that level 1 cancer attack has begun."
"I am having testosterone hormone imbalance, so it could be from there. The groin pain was increasing slowly. Everybody was saying it's groin pain but the doctor said cancer attack can happen if it (the pain) continues."
Asked specifically if she underwent some more tests for reconfirmation and the latest status, Dutee said, "At that time, the doctor (Satpathy) said it is level 1 cancer attack. There was a lot of pain at that time. But after taking medicine, the pain has subsided, there was recovery. I did not do any other medical test because I was feeling all right, not much of pain. Then, I gave this sample to NADA and came the dope positive result. That is the story," she said.
She said she took the medicine for the groin pain for just 15-20 days and stopped it as the pain had reduced.
"I spoke to my doctor who advised me to take rest otherwise it will keep on increasing and will become a serious problem. So I stopped (training) a bit and took the medicine for 15 to 20 days."
Dutee said she has not done anymore test after the November 2021 MRI.
"After this dope positive result (in January this year), I am not in a position to do medical test (for the cancer diagnosis). I am completely in a harassed state of mind. I sent the (medical) report to an expert also who told me it has happened to two-three other athletes also."