The four-year bans on track and field athletes Pooja Rani, Kiran, Pankaj and Chelimi Pratyusha for evading dope tests has been reduced by one yr after they accepted their offence inside 20 days of being charged.
The quartet was amongst a number of athletes who have been suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) earlier this yr beneath Article 2.3 of the anti-doping guidelines, which offers with “evading, refusing or failing to submit to sample collection by an athlete” with out compelling justification.
The most ban interval for a primary offence is 4 years, however Article 10.8 of the NADA Rules gives for “results management agreements” beneath which athletes can get reduced punishment primarily based on early admission and acceptance of sanction.
Article 10.8.1 permits athletes charged with a four-year ban to profit from a one-year discount in the event that they admit the violation and settle for the penalty inside 20 days of being charged.
Article 10.8.2 gives a possibility for the athlete to enter right into a Case Resolution Agreement with NADA and WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) during which the relevant interval of ineligibility could be agreed upon primarily based on the details of the case.
Pooja Rani’s three-year ban interval has already begun from August 13, 2024, the identical as that of Kiran and Pankaj. Chelimi Pratyusha’s three-year ban interval, nevertheless, started from February 6 this yr.
Pooja, Kiran, Pankaj and Chelimi have been additionally included in Monaco-based Athletics Integrity Unit’s (AIU) listing of athletes sanctioned for doping and non-doping violations for the month of June.
AIU is the impartial anti-doping watchdog established by World Athletics, the worldwide governing physique of the game.
