More Indian athletes in doping scandal
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A second member of the Indian women's 4x400 metres Asian and Commonwealth Games winning team has failed a dope test, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) said on Thursday.
A day after gold-medallist Mandeep Kaur was banned, teammate Sini Jose also tested positive for the same banned anabolic steroid methandienone, AFI director ML Dogra said.
Juana Murmu and Tiana Mary Thomas, who are also 400m runners, shot putter Sonia and long jumper Hari Krishna Muralidharan also returned positive results for the same drug.
Murmu had failed the dope test conducted by the world governing body of athletics (IAAF) at a training camp in India last month.
India's medal prospects in the London Olympics will be severely dented in the women's 400 metres relay as two of the four runners from the triumphant Asian Games team will be ruled out.
India's National Anti-Doipng Agency (NADA) collected 59 samples during an athletics meet in Bangalore this month while Muralidharan was tested in Pune as part of out-of-competition testing.
"We are shocked and surprised and we are awaiting the official result from NADA. All athletes have tested positive for the same salt," Dogra said.
"I am not an expert but I am surprised that all of them, despite being from different sports have returned positive results for the same drug."
In accordance with World-Anti Doping Agency rules, all the offenders have been provisionally suspended.
"This is becoming a very serious matter. We will step up our campaign against doping and especially in athletics," NADA director Rahul Bhatnagar told Reuters from New Delhi.
"All core probables for next year's Olympic Games will be tested several times so that our athletes are clean before we go to London."
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