DOPING

What is doping?

Doping means athletes taking illegal substances to improve their performances.

There are five classes of banned drugs, the most common of which are stimulants and hormones. There is health risks involved in taking them and they are banned by sports' governing bodies

According to the UK Anti-Doping Agency, substances and methods are banned when they meet at least two of the three following criteria: they enhance performance, pose a threat to athlete health, or violate the spirit of sport.

Ashwini Akkunji

Ashwini Chidananda Shetty Akkunji (born 7 October 1987) is an Indian sprint athlete from Siddapura, Udupi who specializes in 400 metres.

Ashwini has won Gold Medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2010 Asian Games in 4x400 m relay team event with Manjeet Kaur, Mandeep Kaur and Sini Jose and an individual gold medal in the 400 metres hurdles on 25 November 2010 at the 2010 Asian Games held at Guangzhou, in China.

She is also a recipient of the Rajyotsava Prashasti (2010), a civilian honour awarded by the Indian State Government of Karnataka

DOPING

In July 2011 prior to Asian athletics championships in Kobe (Japan) she tested positive for anabolic steroids. She was subsequently dropped from the athletics team for the event and was suspended from athletics. She denied the charges but on 23 December 2011 the NADA banned her for a year. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld an appeal by the International Association of Athletics Federations against lighter sentences and handed Ashwini and 5 other athletes (Mandeep Kaur, Sini Jose, Jauna Murmu, Tiana Mary and Priyanka Panwar) a two-year ban.

Defense counsel RK ANAND said that Ogorodnik (their coach at National Sports Academy, PATALIA) had been with the team for many years and they had no reason to question his intentions. He, on behalf of athletes, pleaded "no fault or negligence" under article 10.1.2 of the WADA code and asked for exoneration of the athletes.

In its order, the panel (Athletic Federation of INDIA) however, suspended the athletes for the violation of rule 2.1.1 of the WADA code, which makes it clear that the athlete is responsible for any prohibited substance that enters his/ her body.

The athletes were also lucky to escape with a one- year ban as the panel applied article 10.5.2 as it ruled that the athletes have established that they bear "no significant fault or negligence" and hence the period of ineligibility was reduced to half the period of ineligibility otherwise applicable.

But all her hoped ended when her ‘B’ sample tested positive for anabolic steroids. She was India’s biggest hope in many years to finally win gold at Olympics in relay and sprinting category. As a result of the she not only lost her place in the 2012 London Olympics but also she lost all her fame she had gained in the past, with her amazing performance at Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. She had become a household name but it was all lost because of the food she consumed, that had steroid. The ban lifted on 3rd July a month before the Olympics starts. However, she was unable to complete at the Olympics as the qualifying period for relay team got over on 2^nd July (just a day prior) while for the Individual events closed on 8th July. She couldn’t qualify for either of the categories. Athletics Federation of India had to come up with new names of athletes who were good enough to qualify for the Olympics

She had to wait for 4 years to complete in the Rio Olympics in 2016.