Guwahati: Two-time Commonwealth Games champion Sanjita Chanu has been handed a four-year ban after testing positive for a banned anabolic steroid Drostanolone Metabolite by a panel formed by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). The substance is in the prohibited list of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
According to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) in the United States, Drostanolone is a breast cancer treatment, and players use it to increase power because of the high protein content.
Sanjita, who had finished second to Mirabai Chanu in the women’s 49kg weight division at the 36th National Games in Gujarat, will now be stripped of the silver medal. Sanjita’s dope sample was collected at the National Games in October, last year.
In that case, Sneha Soren of Odisha, who lifted the bronze medal will be upgraded to the second spot.
Repeated calls to the lifter from EastMojo went unanswered.
This is not the first time that the diminutive Manipuri weightlifter has been suspended for failing a dope test. In 2018, the 2011 Asian championship medallist was handed a ban by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) after she tested positive for the anabolic steroid testosterone before the US World Championships in November 2017.
However, in 2020 the International Weightlifting Federation dropped the charge against her due to “non-conformities” in the handling of her urine sample. The IWF had cleared her name based on a recommendation from the WADA.
“I have been in this situation before. But I am not able to understand how this has happened. Since that incident, I have been cautious about my diet and everything. I check my supplements carefully and ask if they are free of all dope,” she had said.
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Sanjita, who had clinched a gold medal in the 48kg weight division at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and a 53kg gold at the Gold Coast edition in 2018, now has a chance to appeal the latest ban.
However, in both cases, she will stand to lose on two counts. If she appeals, it will take time to clear her name before the Asian Games, later this year and the Paris Olympics in 2024.
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