NEW DELHI: In probably the first case of doping in Indian rugby, a national-level female player, Antima Kumari from Bihar, who was shortlisted for the now-postponed Asian Games in Hangzhou, has been banned for two years by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) after traces of prohibited specified substance 'Tamoxifen' was found in her urine sample during an out-of-competition testing in Bhubaneswar. Tamoxifen is listed as hormone and metabolic modulators under S4 of World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) 2021 list of prohibited substances.
Antima, who plays as a winger (the last person in the back line), was found guilty of violating 'Article 2.1' of NADA's anti-doping rules, which pertains to the "presence of a prohibited substance or its metabolites or markers in an athlete's sample". She was tested on October 18, 2021 during the national rugby team's camp at the KIITs University in Bhubaneswar and her 'A' sample was sent for testing to the WADA-accredited laboratory in Belgium, which returned adverse analytical finding (AAF) for 'metabolite methoxy-hydroxy-tamoxifen'.
Antima was served with the notice of charge on December 12, 2021, following which she opted for provisional suspension due to the banned drug falling in the category of 'specified substance'. Her period of ineligibility started from December 30. According to Nada's records, the athlete didn't apply for the Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) to justify the presence of Tamoxifen in her body system.
"In the light of lack of cogent defense as to how the substance tamoxifen entered the athlete's body, therefore, the panel, hereby, holds the athlete is liable for sanction for a period of 2 years ineligibility. The period of ineligibility shall start from December 30, 2021," the ADDP order read.
However, what's strange in her case was that an Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU) official, Sourojit Ghosh, who works as a rugby development officer, represented her during the NADA's disciplinary panel (ADDP) hearing in place of a proper lawyer. A legal expert could have put things in perspective before the panel, making Antima's defence stronger.
"Lack of proper legal aid to athletes making them vulnerable to harsh punishment for unintentional doping is a crucial area that the government & sports federation must look into. I am astonished that an athlete was represented by Rugby union before ADDP but not by a lawyer who could have put up better defence for this unintentional doping offence. I am disturbed to see athletes bearing the brunt. We will appeal against this order," Antima's lawyer, Saurabh Mishra, told TOI.
Also, it has been learnt that a person called Sunil Vishwakarma, a track and field athlete, who Antima was in touch with since 2019, had prescribed her some multi-vitamin tablets prior to joining the rugby camp in November 2021. Antima had argued through the IRFU official that these tablets could have resulted in her dope failure. But the medical expert, Dr Sanjogita Soodan, ruled out this possibility.
"The athlete appeared through his representative of the Rugby Federation of India. Sunil Vishwakarma was called and, on the telephone, he agreed to actually prescribing multi vitamins to the said athlete Antima. The panel asked Antima, if the multi vitamins prescribed by Sunil were the same that the athlete said to the Rugby Federation for Lab testing. The athlete responded in the affirmative. She also added that she took these multi vitamins prescribed by Sunil during the camp for a duration of one week and stopped taking these vitamins more than a week prior to her competition," the order said.
"As the lab report shows, these multi vitamins or these medicines are not the one which are in the dope test. The medical expert Dr Sanjogita Soodan apprised the bench that the tamoxifen comes in report once an attempt is made to wash tamoxifen from her body. On repeatedly asking the athlete whether she took steroids and explaining how the banned substance entered her body, she has no convincing answer to give. The panel also directs the athlete including Sunil to stop giving medical advice to any other sportspersons in future. The bench has also instructed Sourojit Gosh appearing for the Rugby Federation to check and inform all the athletes that no one out of turn medical advice is given to the athletes to other athletes and secondly to inform all athletes to seek medical advice only from existing medical experts of the panel," it added.
Antima, on her part, said: "I would request the hearing panel for a reprieve and to consider my case purely on the basis of unintentional fault. Due to the dope failure, I have already missed two senior Nationals, first in December and now in Patna earlier this month. I have been out of the national camp since December. The Rugby India has organised a preparatory camp from June 21 for the Asian 7-a-side championships in Indonesia in August. I am already missing out on a lot of international competitions. I was unaware of the specifications with regards to the multi-vitamin tablets which I took for 4-5 days after joining the camp in November last year."
