Four out of 12 medallists tested for doping: Coach
9 Aug 2014 4:26 AM IST
Indian weightlifting and doping have finally parted ways, feels a relieved women’s team coach Hansa Sharma, who was at the background as lifters bagged as many as 12 medals at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, thus burying the ghost associated with doping menace.
With the dozen medals came a new-found cleaner image, something the Indian Weightlifting Federation had been searching for. ‘Only two out of our five girls who won medals at the CWG were tested. The gold and silver medallists (Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu and Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, respectively) were tested on the first day but after that no tests were conducted. None of the Indian lifters were called for random tests also,’ Sharma said.
‘In men’s category also, only two were tested out of seven medallists. This says a lot about the image India carried into the Games this time around. The organisers knew India were well prepared this time,’ she added.
Elaborating on how the IWF managed to curb the menace, Sharma said some strict actions were taken by the federation as well as the government. ‘The lifters are mostly there in the camps under the supervision of the coaches. They are being strictly instructed to stay under the supervision of the government all the time. The rules have become so strict that there is very less chance of the athletes getting misguided.
‘Moreover, they are getting the dietary supplements from the government in abundance and that has helped in their quick recovery. Hence, there is no chance of using supplements from outside,’ explained Sharma, the coach of the women’s team. Thirdly, from time to time, the lifters have been educated about all aspects related to doping,’ she said.
Indian weightlifters exceeded expectations at the Glasgow Games, winning three gold, four silver and five bronze, an improvement of four medals from the 2010 Delhi edition.
Asked if the lifters could be expected to put up a similar show at the Asiad, to be held at Incheon, Sharma said the standard of competition would be much higher and it was tough to predict a medal count. ‘Most weightlifters who compete in Asiad are Olympic prospects. So it is going to be really tough for our lifters. But we are leaving no stone unturned as far as training is concerned.
‘A lifter takes at least three months to recover after a competition. Between CWG and Asian Games,
there is only a little over a month’s gap, so it is an uphill task at hands with countries like China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Kazakhstan taking part in the event,’ said Sharma.
Sharma attributed their success to IWF’s long-term planning and its talent-hunt programme. ‘Just after the conclusion of 2010 CWG in October, IWF started with a camp straightaway in the same month. There was always a continuity in the camps and that helped the new bunch of lifters. Proper coaching was provided. They were also sent on a number of competition exposure trips like senior and junior world championships, senior and junior Asian championships etc,’ she revealed.
With the dozen medals came a new-found cleaner image, something the Indian Weightlifting Federation had been searching for. ‘Only two out of our five girls who won medals at the CWG were tested. The gold and silver medallists (Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu and Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, respectively) were tested on the first day but after that no tests were conducted. None of the Indian lifters were called for random tests also,’ Sharma said.
‘In men’s category also, only two were tested out of seven medallists. This says a lot about the image India carried into the Games this time around. The organisers knew India were well prepared this time,’ she added.
Elaborating on how the IWF managed to curb the menace, Sharma said some strict actions were taken by the federation as well as the government. ‘The lifters are mostly there in the camps under the supervision of the coaches. They are being strictly instructed to stay under the supervision of the government all the time. The rules have become so strict that there is very less chance of the athletes getting misguided.
‘Moreover, they are getting the dietary supplements from the government in abundance and that has helped in their quick recovery. Hence, there is no chance of using supplements from outside,’ explained Sharma, the coach of the women’s team. Thirdly, from time to time, the lifters have been educated about all aspects related to doping,’ she said.
Indian weightlifters exceeded expectations at the Glasgow Games, winning three gold, four silver and five bronze, an improvement of four medals from the 2010 Delhi edition.
Asked if the lifters could be expected to put up a similar show at the Asiad, to be held at Incheon, Sharma said the standard of competition would be much higher and it was tough to predict a medal count. ‘Most weightlifters who compete in Asiad are Olympic prospects. So it is going to be really tough for our lifters. But we are leaving no stone unturned as far as training is concerned.
‘A lifter takes at least three months to recover after a competition. Between CWG and Asian Games,
there is only a little over a month’s gap, so it is an uphill task at hands with countries like China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Kazakhstan taking part in the event,’ said Sharma.
Sharma attributed their success to IWF’s long-term planning and its talent-hunt programme. ‘Just after the conclusion of 2010 CWG in October, IWF started with a camp straightaway in the same month. There was always a continuity in the camps and that helped the new bunch of lifters. Proper coaching was provided. They were also sent on a number of competition exposure trips like senior and junior world championships, senior and junior Asian championships etc,’ she revealed.
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