Tokyo Olympic-bound Indian wrestler Sumit Malik has been provisionally suspended after failing a dope take a look at in the course of the latest qualifiers in Bulgaria, a serious embarrassment for the nation with simply weeks left for the Games. It marks the second consecutive occasion of a wrestler being caught in dope internet earlier than the Olympics – the earlier being forward of the 2016 Rio Olympics when Narsingh Pancham Yadav had failed one and was slapped with a four-year ban.
Malik, the 2018 Commonwealth Games gold-medallist, had certified for the Tokyo Olympics within the 125kg class on the Bulgaria occasion which was the final probability for wrestlers to earn quotas. The 28-year-old’s dream of competing on the occasion beginning July 23 appears pretty much as good as over with this.
“The UWW (United World Wrestling) informed the Wrestling Federation of India yesterday that Sumit has failed the dope test. Now he has to give his B sample on June 10,” a WFI supply informed information company PTI.
Malik has been nursing a knee damage that he suffered in the course of the nationwide camp earlier than the Olympic Qualifiers started at completely different venues. He had competed on the Asian Qualifiers in Almaty in April however didn’t achieve incomes the quota.
He then competed on the Asian Championship on the similar venue and returned with a medal-less efficiency. However, on the World Olympic Qualifiers in Sofia held in May, Malik earned the quota by reaching the ultimate, which he forfeited because of the similar damage.
To let his injured knee heal fully earlier than the Olympics, Malik was additionally planning to skip the publicity journey to Poland that the WFI had organized for its Tokyo-bound group. “He must have taken something unknowingly. Maybe he was taking some Ayurvedic medicine to treat his injured knee and that might have contained some banned substances,” mentioned the supply.
“But these wrestlers should have been careful, they know the risks involved by taking such medicines,” he added.
If Malik’s B pattern additionally returns constructive, he will be banned from the game. He has the suitable to problem the suspension however it’s clear that by the point listening to takes place and a verdict comes out, he would miss competing on the Olympics.
