Sumit Malik gets a two-year ban, can India send a replacement to the Tokyo Olympics 2020?
Indian wrestler Sumit Malik’s Tokyo Olympics 2020 journey came to a disappointing end after United World Wrestling (UWW) handed him a two-year ban for failing a dope test. It is an open-and-shut case after Sumit’s ‘B sample’ also returned positive for a prohibited substance.
Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) assistant secretary, Vinod Tomar, spoke about Sumit Malik's situation in an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda. Tomar said:
“UWW has handed him a two-year ban as his sample B has also returned positive,” said Vinod Tomar.
Sumit Malik has a week to challenge the verdict. This comes as a big jolt to Indian wrestling, which is set to lose out on one of its Tokyo Olympic quotas due to the ban.
Can India send a replacement to the Tokyo Olympics?
In simple words ‘NO’.
Sumit Malik qualified for the games in May at the World Qualifiers for Tokyo Olympics held in Sofia, Bulgaria.
He suffered a knee injury during the competition and pulled out of the final. However, he still grabbed the Tokyo berth as the top two qualified for the quadrennial event.
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However, since he has now tested positive for a banned substance, methylhexaneamine (MHA), his performance stands disqualified.
“We have lost the Tokyo Olympics quota since he got tested during the competition. Had he cleared the test in Bulgaria and then tested positive in India, we could have sent a replacement,” Tomar added.
As per the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) list of banned substances, MHA is prohibited in-competition as a specified stimulant. The rules are pretty clear here:
“When an Adverse Analytical Finding is received for a prohibited substance or a prohibited method, other than a specified substance, a provisional suspension shall be imposed promptly…,” read the WADA code.
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It is a repeat of 2016 Rio Olympics
Four years ago, right before the Rio Olympics, 74kg wrestler Narsingh Yadav had failed the dope test. He was handed a four-year ban by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) for doping violations.
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He made a comeback in 2020 but failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.