Javelin thrower Rohit Yadav given a new life as NADA fails to meet deadline for appeal

What's the story?

The anti-doping appeal panel (ADDP) dismissed National Anti-Doping Agency's (NADA) appeal for "maximum sanction of four years and outright rejection of the plea" taken by Javelin thrower Rohit Yadav, after the athlete pleaded for a one year suspension instead of full punishment last year on account of being a minor and having no knowledge of the presence of the substance in his body.

In case you didn’t know…

National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) suspended Javelin thrower Rohit Yadav after he tested positive for ‘stanozolol’ last year. He was subsequently to be stripped off his silver medal won at the Asian Youth Athletics championship last year after failing the dope test. However,

The heart of the matter

Rohit Yadav, a gold medallist at the World School Games 2016, was to be stripped off his silverware won at the Asian Youth Athletics championship 2017 after he tested positive for the presence of ‘stanozolol’.

The banned substance was found in his Sample ‘A’, which was taken during the competition. NADA provisionally suspended the athlete, which was later challenged by the athlete when he pleaded guilty to a reduced punishment of suspension for one year on account of being a minor and claiming of having no knowledge about taking the banned substance that was detected.

The decision was taken by a disciplinary panel which reduced the sentence for the athlete. NADA appealed against the reduced period as it felt that the athlete had failed on grounds of doping and was liable for full suspension for four years, but it had to face an embarrassment on Monday as the ADDP, chaired by JRV Easwar, dismissed NADA’s appeal as it delayed filing the appeal by six months, which had to be filed in maximum of 21 days.

Yadav’s counsel Parth Goswami was successful in arguing the case and based NADA’s time-barred anti-doping rules 2015; NADA’s appeal for full suspension was dismissed.

What's next?

Yadav reacted positively to the decision and said that his goal is to win competitions moving forward with the hope of putting all the negatives behind him. Yadav’s one-year suspension will end today, May 22, 2018.

Author's Take

The decision had its positives and negatives. While the delay in appeal by NADA had given a new life to the young athlete, such decisions also highlight the loopholes in the system which can be exploited and can act as encouragement for getting away with substance abuse.