Greco-Roman wrestler Deepak seeks urgent hearing in bid to make Asian Games squad

Hoping to be included in the Asian Games-bound Indian contingent in the last minute, Greco-Roman wrestler Deepak (67kg), who was removed from the squad after testing positive for banned substance Clomifene, on Thursday approached the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) seeking an expedited hearing of his case.

The Indian wrestling squad is all set to leave for Japan on Saturday. Acting on a Delhi High Court order to consider permissible relief under the extant policy for Deepak, who had not been provisionally suspended for the adverse analytical finding, the Ministry advised the athlete to request the NADA to conduct an expedited hearing and “obtain a determination regarding his anti-doping status and eligibility to participate in the Asian Games.” A Ministry communication said that after receiving the NADA’s “clearance” it would consider including Deepak’s name in the Asian Games contingent.

Deepak returned a positive result for Clomifene in a test conducted during the Asian Games selection trials in Lucknow on May 31. Earlier, two other wrestlers, Mukul Dahiya (freestyle 86kg) and Deepanshu (Greco-Roman 130kg), had also tested positive for banned substances.

Consequently, India lost three wrestling berths out of a total of 18.