09-03-2004, 06:14 AM
Sacked coaches say Chanu clean, Pratima had a drink too many
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The mystery of when and how weightlifters Sanamacha Chanu and Pratima Kumari took illegal substances that led to their expulsion from the Olympic Games will require a team of psychologists and detectives to crack. Because the disgraced coaches, Leonid Taranenko and Pal Singh Sandhu, have virtually cleared one and condemned the other.
While Sandhu, the chief national coach, clears Chanu of wrongdoing and hints at sabotage, foreign expert coach Taranenko says Pratima tested positive for alcohol consumption while training in Belarus and indicates her personal coach Ramesh Malhotra may be an accessory to her doping.
Both coaches, incidentally, are responsible for both lifters â and both have had their contracts with the Sports Ministry terminated. The entire issue is now being investigated by the KP Singh Deo Committee.
Sandhuâs report, to the Teams Wing of the Sports Authority of India, fails to answer how traces of banned diuretics were found in Chanuâs urine samples after the competition. It merely says that Chanu, having kept her body weight in check all through her training period in Minsk and after reaching Athens, didnât need to take diuretics to reduce her body weight.
It implies one of two things: that Chanu doped herself between the random test and her competition or, as the lifter herself alleged, was the victim of sabotage.
Chanu had alleged, after the news broke, that someone had mixed something in a drink before the comeptition. She was sharing the room with fellow Indian lifters at Athens.
Pratima, on the other hand, had blamed her fall on Taranenko and Karnam Malleswari. She said she went to Belarus against her wishes and there she was administered close to 25-30 injections.
Taranenko â currently at the NIS, Patiala â also mentions another incident that took place at Minsk. During a warm-up session, Pratimaâs mouth ââwas not smelling normalââ. When asked, she told the coaches that she had taken ayuvedic medicines.
ââThe test report was shocking as her blood contained 1.07 per cent alcohol content, which is very high concentrationââ, Taranenkoâs report says. ââIt is no good for lifter to take alcohol during training as it can cause serious injury and trauma.ââ
Pratima, when contacted today, denied the alcohol-related allegation, saying it was not possible for any lifter to consume alcohol.
She stuck to her allegations against her coaches and said that Taranenko was now trying to blame her in a bid to come out clean in the entire episode.
She said that sheâd been getting threatening calls asking her not to pursue her case with the Union Sports Ministry and remain silent.
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<!--emo&:mad--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='mad.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The mystery of when and how weightlifters Sanamacha Chanu and Pratima Kumari took illegal substances that led to their expulsion from the Olympic Games will require a team of psychologists and detectives to crack. Because the disgraced coaches, Leonid Taranenko and Pal Singh Sandhu, have virtually cleared one and condemned the other.
While Sandhu, the chief national coach, clears Chanu of wrongdoing and hints at sabotage, foreign expert coach Taranenko says Pratima tested positive for alcohol consumption while training in Belarus and indicates her personal coach Ramesh Malhotra may be an accessory to her doping.
Both coaches, incidentally, are responsible for both lifters â and both have had their contracts with the Sports Ministry terminated. The entire issue is now being investigated by the KP Singh Deo Committee.
Sandhuâs report, to the Teams Wing of the Sports Authority of India, fails to answer how traces of banned diuretics were found in Chanuâs urine samples after the competition. It merely says that Chanu, having kept her body weight in check all through her training period in Minsk and after reaching Athens, didnât need to take diuretics to reduce her body weight.
It implies one of two things: that Chanu doped herself between the random test and her competition or, as the lifter herself alleged, was the victim of sabotage.
Chanu had alleged, after the news broke, that someone had mixed something in a drink before the comeptition. She was sharing the room with fellow Indian lifters at Athens.
Pratima, on the other hand, had blamed her fall on Taranenko and Karnam Malleswari. She said she went to Belarus against her wishes and there she was administered close to 25-30 injections.
Taranenko â currently at the NIS, Patiala â also mentions another incident that took place at Minsk. During a warm-up session, Pratimaâs mouth ââwas not smelling normalââ. When asked, she told the coaches that she had taken ayuvedic medicines.
ââThe test report was shocking as her blood contained 1.07 per cent alcohol content, which is very high concentrationââ, Taranenkoâs report says. ââIt is no good for lifter to take alcohol during training as it can cause serious injury and trauma.ââ
Pratima, when contacted today, denied the alcohol-related allegation, saying it was not possible for any lifter to consume alcohol.
She stuck to her allegations against her coaches and said that Taranenko was now trying to blame her in a bid to come out clean in the entire episode.
She said that sheâd been getting threatening calls asking her not to pursue her case with the Union Sports Ministry and remain silent.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--emo&:mad--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='mad.gif' /><!--endemo-->