Narsingh Yadav after the verdict, in Delhi on Monday. (Express Photo: Praveen Khanna) Narsingh Yadav after the verdict, in Delhi on Monday. (Express Photo: Praveen Khanna)

WRESTLER Narsingh Yadav, who tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid last month, was exonerated by a National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) hearing panel on Monday but there’s still some way to go before he can board the flight to Rio to participate in the Olympic Games starting August 5.

Narsingh will have to clear a fresh dope test and get clearances from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC); the United World Wrestling (UWW) — the international body — must also agree to reinstate him.

After Yadav failed the dope test on June 25 and July 5, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) had named Praveen Rana as a replacement in the 74-kg category at the Olympics.

The NADA panel concluded that Narsingh was a victim of “sabotage”, a theory the wrestler and his legal team had pursued during the hearing which took place over two days last week.

Narsingh faced a four-year ban for a first-time doping offence but appealed under article 10.4 of the WADA code that provides for “elimination of ineligibility where an athlete can prove that despite all due care he or she was sabotaged by a competitor”.

NADA director general Navin Agarwal said the three-member NADA panel decided to exonerate Narsingh as it was convinced by his claims of a “sabotage”.

A relieved Narsingh later thanked the Prime Minister’s Office for its intervention in the case. According to WFI president and BJP MP Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had demanded a speedy probe into the issue.

WATCH: Narsingh gets clean chit. What next?

“I bow down and thank everyone from the Prime Minister’s Office, the sports ministry, the Sports Authority of India and the Wrestling Federation of India for their support and assistance,” said Narsingh. “I never had a doubt that I’ll be cleared but now my focus is firmly on doing my best and going all out to bring glory to the nation.”

WFI’s Singh said he was “hopeful” that Narsingh would be allowed to go. He added that the federation would forward a copy of the NADA panel’s verdict to the IOC and UWW to get clarity on whether Narsingh can be a part of the Games.

IOC spokesperson Mark Adams told The Indian Express that replacing an athlete is a ‘National Olympic Committee’ issue, which means the Indian Olympic Association will play a crucial role as well. India’s chef de mission for the Rio Games, Rakesh Gupta, said they have already begun the process to get Narsingh registered with the local organising committee.

But even if he is allowed to go to Rio, Narsingh may face another hurdle as WADA can challenge the NADA panel verdict at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the highest appellate body. Moreover, even NADA, in consultation with WADA, can lodge an appeal with its disciplinary panel against the exoneration. Both the hearing committee and the disciplinary panel, the body which entertains appeals, are independent of NADA.

Dr P S M Chandran, former head of sports medicine at Sports Authority of India (SAI) and a member of previous NADA panels, said, “WADA can appeal against the hearing panel’s verdict at the CAS. Moreover, as it is an Olympic year, the IOC’s medical commission can also appeal at CAS. These appeals have to be made within 21 days.”

NADA director-general Navin Agarwal said that the anabolic steroid — methandienone — seemed to be getting washed out of Narsingh’s body. The sample collected on July 5 had substantially lower content of the banned substance than the one taken on June 25, he said.

“The report about indicative estimated concentration of prohibited substance in the sample collected on June 25 has substantially reduced in the sample collected on July 5,” Agarwal said. “It is important to note that the report of the first sample was not known to the athlete till the collection of the second sample on July 5. Had the athlete been regularly taking it, the report of July 5 would have been positive to the extent of having the main substance,” he said.

Last week, Narsingh had filed a complaint at the Rai police station in Sonepat, accusing a 17-year-old wrestler of allegedly mixing a banned drug in his food that led to him failing the dope test. Narsingh was based at the SAI centre in Sonepat to participate in the preparatory camp for the Rio Games.

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