- Only one athlete left in 100 metre final
Indian Express, an Indian news media publishing company says only one athlete was left to compete in the 100m final when dope testers showed up on the final day of the Delhi State Athletics Championship at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Tuesday.
The newspaper also reports ‘a steeplechase athlete who kept running after crossing the finish line to evade dope testing as well as several winners skipping the medal ceremony as they were worried about being asked to give samples.’
The number of participants, according to the newspaper fell by half as news spread that National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) officials had dropped in, a day after a purported video clip of the washroom at the stadium showed piles of used syringes.
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‘We have eight finalists in the track events, but only three or four turned up (on Tuesday). This is the state of affairs. In the junior steeplechase event, a girl continued to run even after crossing the finish line. A doping control officer had to chase her to get her sample,’ a senior coach told the newspaper.
The newspaper also reports that Lalit Kumar was the lone athlete at the starting blocks of the men’s 100m final while the rest seven said they were suffering from ‘cramps’ or ‘muscle strain’.
‘I was really looking forward to running against the best athletes, but nobody turned up. Everyone was scared of getting tested. As an athlete, I feel very hurt and let down,’ Kumar told the Indian Express.
‘It’s the first time I saw a 100-metres event with just one participant. As soon as the NADA officials arrived, the number of participants dropped to 50 percent,’ an official also told the newspaper.
The newspaper also reported that only three of the finalists turned up in the Under-20 boys’ 100m final.