CWG medal prospect Saurav, another athlete caught for doping

New Delhi: Commonwealth Games medal prospect shot putter Saurabh Vij and Akash Antil flunked dope tests conducted by the National Anti-doping Agency last month, Athletics Federation of India said. Delhi boy Saurav was named along with Om Prakash in India`s Commonwealth Games athletics squad but now he will have to sit out of the multi-sporting event at his home city. "As per the report received from National Anti Doping Agency (NADA), the athletes Saurav Vij and Akash Antil found positive in the dope test conducted during National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships held at Patiala from 5th to 8th August 2010," a statement from AFI said. "They are hereby provisionally suspended with immediate effect till pending enquiry," AFI officiating secretary Ravinder Chaudhry said in the statement.Saurabh had finished second behind Om Prakash at Patiala with a throw of 19.91m. He was one of the promising Indian athletes who could win a medal in the Commonwealth Games. Saurabh recently hurled the iron ball to a distance of 20.65m, bettering Shakti Singh`s national record of 20.42m during the Delhi Athletics Championships.His effort was, however, not considered a national record as the state meet did not fully comply with standard rules like taking dope test samples from the participating athletes. Akash Antil was among the Commonwealth Games Core Group which trained at NIS Patiala but failed to make the CWG bus. Recently, there were reports that four athletes skipped dope tests when a NADA team landed at NIS Patiala and coach Bahadur Singh had produced letters that they had taken leave from the authorities. PTI