The revelation of her doping offence came as an embarrassment for the nation ahead of the Asian athletics meet held in Pune this July. And now months after, the National Anti-Doping Agency is yet to start a hearing against shot putter Udaya Laxmi Peddinedi, once a top women quarter-miler, who has flouted anti-doping rules more than once.
“The Athletics Federation of India had sent us a basic document of her first offence in 2002, but unfortunately it doesn’t contain the sanction copy. We have been in regular touch with the AFI in the matter and hope to get a reply from them in a fortnight’s time,” Nada director general Mukul Chatterjee said on Monday.
“We have also taken up this matter with the Indian Olympic Association, as they were the ones who were responsible for carrying out dope tests before Nada started functioning in 2009. We have sent a communication to the IOA/AFI on August 20 and still awaiting their responses to start the hearing procedures in the Udaya Laxmi’s case.”
Meanwhile, an AFI source said: “We have sent everything related to Uday Laxmi’s first offence to Nada. As the AFI office has been shifted twice during the course of time, there might be some document that may have gone missing.”
Udaya Laxmi was caught doping during the 53rd national inter-state senior athletics championship, where she won the gold for Pune with an effort of 13.68 metres. She tested positive for Methylhexaneamine (MHA), a stimulant.
Interestingly, this was not for the first time that the Andhra Pradesh athlete had come under a cloud. Her dope trail goes back to 2001, when she tested positive for nandralone (anabolic steroid) during the Punjab National Games.
That was the year the IOA has carried out tests for the first time, and they decided not to act on those findings as they were not satisfied with the sample collection procedure.
A year later, she flanked a dope test during the Hyderabad National Games in 2002, once again for nandralone. She was handed a two-year ban and she returned to action at the national inter-state meet as a shot putter.
Chatterjee also said: “We will take this as her second offence. Going by the seriousness of the case, she possibly faces eight years to life ban.”