New Delhi, July 13:
They are returning to the Olympics after eight years and more than the medals, Indian weightlifters would feel the pressure of staying clear of the dope taint that has haunted the country in this discipline for about a decade.
When K Ravi Kumar and N Soniya Chanu enter the arena, they would like the nation to put behind the ignominy of the past decade and script a new beginning.
A beginning that should have come about when Karnam Malleshwari (69kg) raised the profile of Indian weightlifting by several notches after bagging bronze at the 2000 Sydney Olympics before the downfall started with a innumerable doping scandals.
While Malleshwari failed to repeat her feat in the next Olympic Games at Athens in 2004, Kunjarani Devi and Sanamacha Chanu also could not bag any medal.
On top of that, Chanu and Pratima Kumari tested positive for banned performance-enhancing drugs, which damaged the country’s image.
In fact, that was the only time Indian sportspersons, in any discipline ever, were held for doping at the Olympics. Four years later, L Monika Devi was also stopped from boarding the flight to Beijing at the last-minute for doping.
The drug menace continued to haunt Indian weightlifting till 2010. Barely days after the country was saved from international ban, which included missing the Commonwealth Games, Sanamacha Chanu once again failed a NADA dope test, her second offence after being caught at Athens Olympics. (PTI)
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