AFI provisionally suspends Manpreet
New Delhi, July 20: Top Indian shot-putter Manpreet Kaur was on Thursday suspended provisionally for her second dope offence after she tested positive for a banned steroid, just a couple of days after her first dope flunk.
Manpreet has tested positive for the banned steroid and stimulant dimethylbutylamine in her urine sample taken on April 24 during the first leg of the Asian Grand Prix at Jinhua in China.
The 27-year-old Punjab athlete had hurled a distance of 18.86m at the Chinese city (which was then the world leading performance) to win the gold and book a berth for the World Championships to be held in London from August 4 to 13.
Manpreet had also won gold at the recent Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar.
She will now miss the World Championships as the Athletics Federation of India has suspended her provisionally for her dope offence.
“We have been informed that she (Manpreet) has tested positive for a steroid and stimulant. She has been handed provisional suspension by the AFI. She will now be dropped from World Championships team,” AFI president Adille Sumariwalla said.
The Asian Grand Prix comes under the aegis of the continental governing body, the Asian Athletics Association.
If her ‘B’ sample also returns positive, Manpreet could face a ban of up to four years for a first time dope offence.