The alleged conspiracy in the Narsingh Yadav dope scandal began to unravel on Wednesday when the wrestler identified two fellow grapplers as the saboteurs who contaminated his food with a banned steroid, in a formal police complaint.
Narsingh filed an FIR at the Sonepat Police Station naming two fellow wrestlers, one of them a 17-year-old, and persisted with his demand for a CBI probe into the scandal that has sent shockwaves into the Indian sporting fraternity.
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) also continued to back Narsingh but announced that Parveen Rana would replace him in the squad for Rio de Janeiro, a move that was approved by the sport’s world governing body United World Wrestling.
Narsingh himself desisted from taking names but WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh revealed them while talking to the media.
Sports Minister Vijay Goel, on the other hand, stuck to his stand that the government will abide by international rules when it comes to deciding on Narsingh’s trip to Rio in the aftermath of the controversy.
Earlier, the WFI sent Rana’s name to replace Narsingh, putting an end to the speculation surrounding double-Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar’s chances.
Narsingh had been picked ahead of Sushil after he won the quota place with a bronze medal in the World Championships.
Freestyle wrestler Rana, who won a gold medal in the 74kg category at the Dave Schultz Memorial wrestling tournament in USA in 2014, has replaced Narsingh provisionally. If Narsingh proves his innocence at the NADA disciplinary panel hearing on Wednesday, then the wrestler will be heading to Rio.
Narsingh’s parents, relatives and neighbours performed a day-long dharna at Achgara village in Varanasi on Tuesday. They want a high-level inquiry into Narsingh’s failed dope test. They are also planning to hold a Mashal rally to seek support from local residents and protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office in Varanasi on 30 July.
The dharna began at 2pm and continued till evening. Over 200 people participated.
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