Monika Devi pleads for reduced sanction in order to prepare for CWG
Nearly 17 months after she was exonerated by a hearing panel set up by the Indian Weightlifting Federation, Monika Devi appeared before the National Anti-Doping Disciplinary panel on Tuesday and pleaded a reduced sanction so as to enable her to prepare for and compete in the Commonwealth Games in October.
In a doping case that triggered a drama that unfolded on National television just before she was to take off for Beijing for the 2008 Olympics, Monika Devi was first charged with a doping violation, then reprieved and still found herself out of the Olympics since it was too late to consider her entry.
The Manipuri lifter accused the Sports Authority of India (SAI) of having sabotaged her tests, was initially supported by the Indian federation, and then found herself cornered when her ‘B’ sample tests at the WADA-accredited laboratory in Tokyo came back ‘positive’. (K.P. Mohan , The Hindu)
