Kamalpreet Kaur, of India, reacts after her thrown during the qualification round of the women's discus throw at the 2020 Summer Olympics. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)Discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur, who became an overnight star after finishing sixth at the Tokyo Olympics and the only Indian woman to break the 65 metres barrier, has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for Stanozolol, a banned anabolic steroid, the Athletics Integrity Unit said on Wednesday.
Kamalpreet was part of the national camp conducted by the Athletics Federation of India and also was included in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme.
Earlier this week The Indian Express had reported that two track-and-field Tokyo Olympians, a male and a female, had failed dope tests for using banned anabolic steroids. “The AIU has provisionally suspended discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur of India for the Presence/Use of a Prohibited Substance (Stanozolol), a breach of the @WorldAthletics Anti-Doping Rules,” the Athletics Integrity Unit tweeted.
India is ranked third in doping, according to the latest World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report released in 2021. With 152 cases across disciplines, the country is marginally below leaders Russia (167) and Italy (157) on this list.
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Last year Kamalpreet broke the national record on two occasions โ at the Federation Cup in March (65.06 metres) and in June improved the mark to 66.59 metres at the Indian Grand Prix IV.
At the Tokyo Olympics, during a rain-interrupted final, she had finished 6th to match the best-ever finish by Indian women discus thrower at the Summer Games. In the qualification round, Kamalpreet had the second-best throw and in the final she produced 63.70 metres.
Kamalpreet Kaur, of India, competes in the women’s discus throw final at the 2020 Summer Olympics. (AP/PTI Photo) Kamalpreet, her coach Rakhi Tyagi, Athletics Federation of India president Adille Sumariwala and chief national coach Radhakrishnan Nair did not respond to calls. The AIU has issued a notice of allegation to 26-year-old Kamalpreet.
Ben Johnson drug Stanozolol is a synthetic steroid and was banned by the International Olympic Committee and World Athletics (IAAF then) in 1974. The steroid shot to prominence when Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson tested positive at the 1988 Seoul Games and was stripped of his 100 metres gold medal. The other Tokyo Olympian who has failed a dope test is a male whose samples were collected during an out-of-competition test. Although his current form has dipped, he remains an international medallist.
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