AGENCIES, New Delhi: Middle distance runner Prachi Choudhary who made headlines after she had dragged the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) before the Supreme Court for excluding her from the team for the Asian Games of Jakarta 2018. Choudhary did not pass the doping test for an anabolic steroid, oxandrolone metabolite, and has been suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NOTHING).
Hailing from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Choudhury, a 400m specialist, was tested out of competition by NOTHING ‘s dope control officers on December 30 at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports centre in Patiala. Her urine sample returned dope positive for Oxandrolone at Qatar’s Doha testing laboratory.
Following the confirmation of presence of unauthorised substances, Chowdhury was served analytical finding notice after she was unable to obtain a Therapeutic Use Exemption Certificate (TUE) to justify the presence of the banned substance in her system.
Chowdhury, a bronze medalist at the Senior Nationals athletics meeting in Guwahati 2018, has been provisionally suspended pending a hearing by the disciplinary panel. A four-year period of ineligibility has also been initiated due to this issue.
The career of the young athlete is now at its lowest ebb as she will not be able to participate in any of the qualifying meets for the Tokyo Olympics or Athletics Federation of India (AFI) sanctioned events.
