Newly-elected Indian Weightlifting Federation President Birendra Prasad Baishya
Newly-elected Indian Weightlifting Federation President Birendra Prasad Baishya vowed to cleanse the sport from the doping menace which has brought shame to the country in the past. Baishya, a Member of Parliament and former Union Minister, was elected unanimously for a four-year term in the General Body meeting of the Indian Weightlifting Federation and he immediately called on a meeting of the new executive committee and took three important decisions to fight doping in the sport. "It is well known that the federation is in a bad shape now. Our first agenda is to make weightlifting a dope-free sport. I want to make the working of the federation clean and transparent," he said after his unanimous election. "Immediately after the GBM, I called a meeting of the executive committee and took three decisions. The first is that any lifter in their residence or anywhere will have to give samples when demanded and strict action will be taken if anybody is caught for using banned substances without any consideration of his stature," Baishya said. Baishya said he will soon have a meeting with the coaches to discuss how the doping menace is curbed. "Our second decision was that I will have a meeting with the coaches to discuss how to stop the doping menace. The role of the coaches is very important here," he said. Baishya said the inclusion of people like the country's lone woman Olympic medallist Karnam Malleswari as one of the vice-presidents would ensure that the best lifters are selected for international competitions. "We also took the decision that people like Karnam Malleswari would be associated with the selection and technical matters. I would bring more people like those who have won Padamshree awards and have brought laurels to the country in the various committees," he said. (he Times of
