Olympian Vinesh Phogat faces show cause notice from NADA
Vinesh Phogat, Olympian and wrestler-turned-politician, has been issued a show cause notice by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for a whereabouts failure.
The incident follows her recent retirement from wrestling after the Paris Olympics, where she reached the final of the 50 kg freestyle competition. However, she was disqualified from the gold medal bout being overweight by just 100 grams. This marks the first time Phogat has received such a notice.
Vinesh Phogat joined the Congress party recently and she is contesting the upcoming Haryana Assembly election from Julana constituency.
Despite the notice, Phogat is unlikely to face sanctions unless she records two more whereabouts failures within 12 months, as per NADA’s anti-doping rules.
An athlete needs three such failures within a year to be formally charged with an anti-doping violation. Phogat has been given 14 days to respond to the notice.
As part of NADA’s Registered Testing Pool (RTP), athletes are required to provide their whereabouts to the agency to facilitate random dope testing. NADA reported that Phogat was unavailable for a dope test on September 9 at her residence in Kharkhoda village, Sonepat. Athletes who miss a test after providing their location details are cited for a whereabouts failure.
Phogat's situation comes amid heightened scrutiny on top Indian wrestlers. She, along with Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia and Rio Olympics bronze medalist Sakshi Malik was the key figures in the protest against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
While Phogat and Punia continue to navigate anti-doping challenges, fellow wrestler Sakshi Malik retired last year amid the protests.
Punia, like Phogat, is also entangled in NADA's anti-doping efforts, having contested a provisional suspension for allegedly refusing to provide a sample.
