NEW DELHI // Indian weightlifters remain unsure of their participation at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in October as the country's federation struggles to cover an unpaid fine for repeated doping offences. After six lifters failed drugs tests last year, the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) was handed a US$500,000 (Dh1.83m) fine by the international body and faces suspension from global competition if the amount is not cleared in full by the end of this month.
Sahdev Yadav, the IWF secretary general, said the federation had paid $125,000 of the fine to date but was banking on the sports ministry and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to bail them out by making up the shortfall. "Our lifters will not be allowed to compete if we don't pay the remaining $375,000 by August 31. We have approached the sports ministry and the IOA and we are confident we can make the payment before the deadline," Yadav said yesterday. "Our lifters have good prospects and I'm expecting 14 medals, including five gold, from the Games.
"We are yet to hear from either the sports ministry or IOA but we do not foresee a Games in Delhi without Indian lifters." The federation has named a 15-member contingent, including a reserve lifter, for the Games between October 3 and 14 and the list includes Laishram Devi, who returns after serving a two-year ban for doping. India's men and women hockey teams may also miss the Games over a dispute between the International Hockey Federation and the sports ministry, who are backing rival groups to run the sport in the country.
* Reuters