The National Anti-Doping Agency's disciplinary panel on Monday cleared Narsingh Yadav of doping charges, allowing the wrestler to participate at the Rio Olympics. The panel accepted Narsingh's 'sabotage theory' -- where he claimed his food had been spiked with illegal substances -- and exonerated him from all charges.
Narsingh had tested positive for methandionene, a banned substance, on July 23 and was provisionally suspended. The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) had then named Parveen Rana as his replacement in the 74kg freestyle category so that the country's Rio quota was not forfeited. The WFI will now write to the United World Wrestling about the turn of events. Should NADA choose to appeal, though, the case may have to be argued again.
It is learnt that what worked in Narsingh's favour was clear identification, evidence and statements of his food being spiked. Narsingh's cook, Chandan Yadav, identified a junior wrestler, a member of the Sports Authority of India camp in Sonepat where the wrestlers were staying, having on one instance sneaked in and added a white powdery substance to the food that was being cooked. Though the food was discarded after that one incident, Narsingh's lawyers argued that the contamination could have been part of a pattern over a sustained period of time.
The NADA panel accepted Narsingh's claim that it was a one-time ingestion since the quantity of methandionene in his second sample (taken on July 5) was substantially less than the amount found in the first sample (taken on June 25).
"We kept in mind that, till June 2, none of his samples had tested positive," NADA DG Naveen Agarwal said. "It was inconceivable that one-time ingestion would be of benefit. Therefore the panel is of the view that the one-time ingestion was not intentional. The panel concludes that the athlete deserves the benefit of article 10.4 of the NADA's anti-doping code. Keeping in view that he was victim of sabotage, the panel exonerates the athlete from charges of anti-doping rules of NADA."
Aggarwal said the panel was satisfied with the caution shown by Narsingh. "It is not disputed that he consumed food from the mess of SAI, Sonepat; that he consumed food supplements provided by the WFI and the JSW Foundation; that the athlete regularly consulted Dr Joginder, a sports doctor; that he locked the room in which the drinks and supplements were kept; that any change, if required, in the food was done by the athlete's close confidant Chandan Yadav only; that mixture for drink were either undertaken by the athlete directly or his confidant and wrestling partner of 15 years Sandeep Tulsi Yadav; and that he used to keep his amino drink beside the practice mat. The athlete pleads that the only caution he failed to undertake was that he did not keep an eye on his amino drink during practice on June 23 and 24."
A smiling Narsingh arrived at the NADA headquarters in New Delhi a little after 4pm on Monday and thanked those who stood by him. "I was sure that I would get justice, that's why I never stopped practicing," he said. "I knew it was a conspiracy against me. Hopefully, I will a win a medal in Rio.
Narsingh's counsel Vidushpat Singhania said: "We were able to prove on balance of probability how the substance entered the body. Through circumstantial evidence we were able to show attempts of sabotage by a competitor circle and that the athlete had exercised utmost caution."
The theatrics of the episode, which played out over the past week, could well put a Bollywood potboiler to shame. It included two failed dope tests, allegations of spiked food and conspiracy theories flying thick and fast. Most of those theories involved Narsingh's rival Sushil Kumar, the double Olympic medallist who mounted a legal battle to claim the Olympic berth that eventually went to Narsingh. A complaint was registered with the police against a 17-year-old junior wrestler who trains at the Chhatrasal akhara (wrestling gym), run by Sushil Kumar's father-in-law Satpal Singh, for spiking Narsingh's food.
बहुत ख़ुशी की बात है l मेरा सपोर्ट पहले भी था आज भी है और कल भी रहेगा l go win for me and the country #NarsinghYadav
- Sushil Kumar (@WrestlerSushil) 1 August 2016
"We were convinced that they were false charges all along," said Mustafa Ghouse, CEO of JSW Sport, the sports management firm that had been supporting Narsingh. "It's great that his innocence has finally been upheld and he can go to Rio."
The hearing had concluded on Thursday and the panel, which was to pronounce its verdict on Saturday, chose to defer it to Monday after a four-hour wait. With the NADA panel buying time to pronounce its verdict, there was a hint that it could eventually go in Narsingh's favour.
Speaking to ESPN, Narsingh's coach Jagmal Singh said that while the week-long proceedings took a toll on the wrestler mentally, he did not cut down on practice time. "He practised every day despite all the mental agony that he was going through," he said. "In fact, today (Monday) too, we had a two-and-a-half-hour session in the morning. He has been quite gloomy through the week and I'm glad the smile is finally back."