Narsingh-Rio saga: NADA defers verdict till Monday

Meanwhile, the father of wrestler Narsingh Yadav and several of his supporters on Saturday staged a protest in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary office here at Ravindrapuri demanding a high-level inquiry into the doping scandal.

Pancham Yadav, father of the 26-year-old wrestler who tested positive in two dope tests following which his hopes of participating in Rio Olympics faded away, claimed that his son was “innocent” and had fallen a victim to a conspiracy hatched by the rivals to oust him from the games.

People from their native village, Neema, and its adjoining villages had gathered in front of the office demanding a high-level inquiry. Local politicians also joined the protesters.

Earlier this week, Narsingh, who bagged the quota with a bronze medal finish in last year’s World Championships, tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid on both his ‘A’ and ‘B’ samples. 

Meanwhile, Narsingh has cried conspiracy, claiming that his food had been spiked and has filed an FIR at the Sonepat Police Station against two fellow wrestlers. WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh had also backed Narsingh’s claims of a conspiracy, after his sparring partner and roommate Sandeep Tulsi also tested positive for drugs.

Following the positive tests, Parveen Rana was named as Narsingh’s replacement to save India the quota place. The move has been approved by United World Wrestling.

Narsingh was selected for the Rio Olympics in controversial circumstances as two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar had demanded for trials to determine who should go to the games. However, Narsingh was favoured for the same after fighting a lengthy legal battle with Sushil. 

The wrestler, has alleged that he has been framed in the doping scandal by rivals, who spiked his food and supplements to stop him from going to Rio. However, his supplements have reportedly been found to be clean.