India's Sini Jose, Ashwini Akkunji, Manjeet Kaur and Mandeep Kaur celebrate their win in the women's 4x400m relay final at the Commonwealth Games in 2010. William West / AFP
India's Sini Jose, Ashwini Akkunji, Manjeet Kaur and Mandeep Kaur celebrate their win in the women's 4x400m relay final at the Commonwealth Games in 2010. William West / AFP

Sport

Riches to rags for golden girls of India

How Manjeet Kaur, Sini Jose, Ashwini Akkunji and Mandeep Kaur went from heroes of Commonwealth Games and Asian Games to zeroes following drugs tests.

Dileep Premachandran

July 05, 2012

For a few months, they were the golden girls, lauded in a fashion usually reserved only for cricketers.

On the final day of the Commonwealth Games at New Delhi in 2010, Manjeet Kaur, Sini Jose, Ashwini Akkunji and Mandeep Kaur blitzed a strong field to win gold in the 4x400-metre relay, the first time India had done so in an event that requires both speed and endurance.

The English commentator was beside himself in the final stages, saying: "This would be the most phenomenal of grandstand finishes if India were to take this gold. You could not write this script … what a fitting conclusion to these games."

A few weeks later, in Guangzhou, the girls proved that Delhi hadn't been a one-off, winning Asian Games gold as well. The tall and lithe Akkunji, who also won the 400m hurdles gold, was suddenly the toast of a nation that had last seen such success with PT Usha in the 1980s.

The script though would soon unravel. In June 2011, Akkunji, Jose and Mandeep were among six India runners to test positive for the steroids methandienone and stanozolol. Two months ago, Manjeet was banned for not submitting her sample to the National Anti-Doping Agency. They had all trained under Yuri Ogrodnik, a Ukrainian.

Last month, Pinki Pramanik, who was part of the gold-winning quartet at the 2006 Doha Asian Games, was arrested after her partner accused her of being male, and of rape.

There will be no India woman's relay team at the London Olympics, as what was once perceived to be a golden age turns to dust.

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Results

2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m; Winner: AF Al Baher, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).

2.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m; Winner: Talento Puma, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.

3pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,950m; Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.

3.30pm: Jebel Ali Stakes Listed (TB) Dh500,000 1,950m; Winner: Mark Of Approval, Patrick Cosgrave, Mahmood Hussain.

4pm: Conditions (TB) Dh125,000 1,400m; Winner: Dead-heat Raakez, Jim Crowley, Nicholas Bachalard/Attribution, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.

4.30pm: Jebel Ali Sprint (TB) Dh500,000 1,000m; Winner: AlKaraama, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.

5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.

5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,400m; Winner: Cachao, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.

The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
  • not be younger than 25 years old
  • not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
  • be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
  • have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
  • undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
  • A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
EA Sports FC 25
Know before you go
  • Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
  • If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
  • By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
  • Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
  • Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.

 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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Armies of Sand

By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
 

Essentials
The flights
Return flights from Dubai to Windhoek, with a combination of Emirates and Air Namibia, cost from US$790 (Dh2,902) via Johannesburg.
The trip
A 10-day self-drive in Namibia staying at a combination of the safari camps mentioned – Okonjima AfriCat, Little Kulala, Desert Rhino/Damaraland, Ongava – costs from $7,000 (Dh25,711) per person, including car hire (Toyota 4x4 or similar), but excluding international flights, with The Luxury Safari Company.
When to go
The cooler winter months, from June to September, are best, especially for game viewing. 

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young