New Delhi:
The 'B' samples of four athletes, including two Commonwealth Games-bound swimmers and a shot putter, today returned positive for banned substance piling on the embarrassment to the country less than a month ahead of the Games here.
Top women swimmers Richa Mishra and Jyotsana Pansare, shot putter Saurabh Vij and discus thrower Aakash Antil failed their 'B' sample tests, NADA Director General Rahul Bhatnagar said.
"Richa, Jyotsana, Saurabh and Antil's 'B' samples have tested positive. So we are sending them what is called the second notice to face (NADA) disciplinary panel. We have asked the panel chief to fix an early date for a hearing. All of them have tested positive for methylhexaneamine," he said.
"The punishment to be handed on them will be decided by the disciplinary panel," he added.
Richa, who was adjudged the best female swimmer of the 64th National Aquatic Championship in Jaipur, and Jyotsana were named in the CWG swimming squad.
Delhi boy Saurabh was also named in the CWG squad. Antil, a young Haryana discus thrower, was not among the CWG core group.
Swimming Federation of India Secretary Virender Nanavati said that Richa and Jyotsana would not compete in the Commonwealth Games.
"They can now appear before the NADA disciplinary panel on their application. But that is more of a formality and they are technically out of the Commonwealth Games," Nanavati said.
The 'A' samples of Richa, Jyotsana and another swimmer Amar Muralitharan, Saurabh and Antil tested positive for methylhexanamine last week.
Today's dope results came two days after the 'B' samples of six wrestlers also testing positive for the same methylhexanamine, which was added as a banned substance only this year by World Anti-Doping Agency.
Four of them -- men's freestyle wrestlers Rajiv Tomar (120kg), who was conferred Arjuna Award last month, Sumit (74kg) and Mausam Khatri (96kg) and women's freestyle wrestler Gursharanpreet Kaur (72kg) -- were removed from Commonwealth Games squad.
Rahul Mann (60kg) and Joginder Singh (120kg) were the other two wrestlers.