`Devastated` Narsingh a victim of conspiracy, reiterates WFI chief

By Vivek Prabhakar Singh Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Aug. 19 (ANI): Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has insisted that Narsingh Yadav was a 'victim of conspiracy' despite the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) overturning the clean chit given to the wrestler by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) over doping charges. While handing out a four-year suspension, the CAS ad-hoc division said in a media release that it "did not accept the argument of the athlete that he was the victim of sabotage and noted that there was no evidence that he bore no fault nor that the anti-doping rule violation was not intentional." However, Bhushan claimed that neither WFI nor the NADA got enough opportunity to defend Narsingh's case at the CAS, adding that the athlete had been left devastated by the ruling. "It is unfortunate that the first player to qualify for Olympics and too with a medal has been banned all of a sudden due to a conspiracy," Bhushan told ANI. "We were not given sufficient opportunity to present our version. Even the NADA official was not prepared. Our lawyer couldn't come to Rio in such a short notice to present our case in front of the CAS and, therefore, telephonic conference had to be held. Clearly, we failed to present our case successfully in front of the World Anti-Doping Agency," the WFI president said, adding that stern action should be taken against the culprit behind this conspiracy. "We will ensure that a CBI probe into this conspiracy is done. It is mandatory to investigate this matter and punish the culprit so that this kind of incident doesn't occur to any other athlete in the future," Bhushan added. On Tuesday, Narsingh's Rio campaign hit a major roadblock when the WADA filed an urgent application before the CAS, challenging the decision of NADA to exonerate the 26-year-old grappler following two positive anti-doping tests with methandienone on June 25 and July 5. Earlier this month, the NADA had paved the way for Narsingh to compete in the prestigious quadrennial event after its disciplinary panel ruled that he was a victim of sabotage (food/drink tampering) perpetrated by another competitor. Narsingh, who bagged the quota with a bronze medal finish in last year's World Championships, was scheduled to fight in the 74-kg category on Friday. His selection for the Rio Olympics was also marred with controversy as two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar had demanded trials to determine who should go to the games. In the end, Narsingh was favoured for the same after fighting a lengthy legal battle with Sushil. (ANI)