India bans 8 after dope test

In an embarrassing blow a month before India hosts the Commonwealth Games, eight of its athletes have been suspended after failing drugs tests.

Five were to have competed in the Games; one was considered a gold medal prospect.

Officials in Delhi confirmed yesterday that six wrestlers, a shot putter and another athlete, tested positive for methylhexaneamine, a banned stimulant used as a Nasal decongestant.

As a result, India will have to find replacements. The athletes can request that a "B" sample is tested but the results will not be completed before the games.

The biggest blow is the loss of the Olympian Rajiv Tomar, considered a gold medal prospect in the men's 120kg freestyle wrestling. Those who also tested positive included fellow male wrestlers Mausam Khatri and Sumit Kumar, and female Gursharanpreet Kaur.

Banned too is Saurabh Vij, a medal prospect in the men's shot put.

"It is unfortunate that these failed tests came just before the Games," said Rahul Bhatnagar, who heads the National Anti-Doping Agency. "But we have a no-tolerance policy towards that."

Last year, the country's weightlifting federation was fined $500,000 by its governing body after six of its competitors failed drugs tests. The federation paid $125,000 of the fine and had to borrow the rest. In January, four wrestlers were asked to leave the national training camp after testing positive for steroids.

Meanwhile, scientists in Germany have developed tests for gene doping in what the World Anti-Doping Agency hailed as a major breakthrough in fighting the next frontier in cheating in sports.

The scientists said they have come up with a blood test that can provide "conclusive proof" of gene doping, even going back as far as 56 days from when the doping took place.

A US-French research team has also devised its own method for detecting genetic doping in muscles.

The discoveries raise the possibility that a valid gene-doping test can be implemented across the sports world by the 2012 London Olympics.

"This is a really significant and major breakthrough," WADA director general, New Zealand's David Howman, told the Associated Press.

"This is a project we've been engaged in since 2002. Now we've reached the situation where we're pretty certain that it can be detected."

Gene doping is the practice of using genetic engineering to artificially enhance athletic performance.

It is a spin-off of gene therapy, which alters a person's DNA to fight disease.

The method is banned by WADA and the International Olympic Committee. WADA devoted US$2 million in research projects to devise reliable tests, which have taken about four years.

Researchers said the tests can detect gene doping directly through blood samples.

Howman said the tests still needed scientific validation but should be implemented "within two years."

Asked whether they would be ready in time for the London Olympics, he said: "It's certainly possible."

In any case, samples will be stored so they can retested later.

- Independent, AP