New Delhi:
Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar, former Olympic 100m champion Linford Christie and tennis player Petr Korda were among the famous sports persons who have tested positive for steroid Nandrolone, the same banned substance found in the sample of an unnamed Indian athlete at the Commonwealth Games.
Akhtar was sent back home when he tested positive for Nandrolone in 2006 before the start of the Champions Trophy in India while Christie, who won the 100m dash at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, tested positive for the steroid in 1999.
Czech tennis player Korda, who won the Australian Open in 1998, was caught immediately after the event and was banned for a year. He never returned to ATP circuit after the dope scandal.
Nandrolone is used by athletes for muscle growth, appetite stimulation and increased red blood cell production and bone density.
Nandrolone use is directly detectable in hair or indirectly detectable in urine by testing for the presence of 19-norandrosterone, a metabolite. The IOC has set a limit of 2.0 g/L of 19-norandrosterone in urine as the upper limit.