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Indian Doc Let Off With Reprimand at CWG, But Questions Remain

Indian doctor was let off with a reprimand after syringes were found in the team’s compound at CWG athletes village.

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It appears as if it was little more than a storm in a tea cup and the Indian contingent in Gold Coast for the ensuing Commonwealth Games could allow itself a collective sigh of relief after the boxing team’s doctor, Amol Patil, was let off with a reprimand for breaching the no-needles policy of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).

In its collective wisdom, the CGF court decided that a reprimand was enough for the doctor’s infringement of the no-needles policy. Perhaps, it felt that the manner in which the syringe was disposed came across only as a schoolboy error.

The penalty is no more than a rap on the knuckles but the whole saga, ahead of the Games, was completely needless and avoidable.

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A reading of the CGF No Needle Policy for the Commonwealth Games 2018 Gold Coast suggests that the case was referred to the federation court only after the CGF Medical Commission disputed whether the medical justification of the injection was acceptable as normal medical practice.

Indian doctor was let off with a reprimand after syringes were found in the team’s compound at CWG athletes village.
Indian Boxing Team at Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games village in Queensland, Australia on 27 March 2018. 
(Photo: IANS)

Paying for Picking Inexperienced Doctor?

Should the Indian contingent be saddled with such a doctor who was apparently uninitiated in the processes involved in such multi-discipline Games? Of course, the doctor claimed he was aware of the no-needles policy and detailed all use of needles from 19 March, and co-operated by disclosing all medication in his possession.

The moot question is: If indeed he knew the no-needles policy, why would he not have secured a sharps bin to dispose of the needles and the syringe before administering the injection to the boxer? And, as per the CGF court’s order, Dr Patil made two trips to the Polyclinic in the Games Village before he disposed of the needles.

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Who Discovered the Syringe?

The court’s order does not detail how the syringe was discovered. Was it a housekeeping staff who found it inside a water bottle that was placed in a waste bin? Or was it a valiant Indian official who took the bottle to the Commonwealth Games Federation Medical Commission personnel? These questions remain unaddressed and hence, subject to speculation.

Surprisingly, the CGF court also appeared to take cognisance of this being the doctor’s first Games and the Indian medical team being short staffed – only two doctors and one physiotherapist. It is a mystery how the court arrived at this figure of one physiotherapist for the whole contingent of 327 members. The Indian Olympic Association’s website shows as many as 15 physios in the delegation.

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Other Unanswered Questions

There are other important questions that also remain unanswered. As someone who told the host broadcaster that Dr Patil had given a multivitamin injection to boxer who was ill, should the boxing team’s High-Performance Manager Santiago Nieva not have reminded the team doctor to dispose of the needle with greater care and in accordance with the regulations?

The second such question has to focus on the role of the IOA and its response now. More than anything else, it will be interesting to see what stand it takes against contingent manager Ajay Narang who told AFP that he was being a good citizen and turned over the bottle with the syringe to the representatives of the CGF Medical Commission.

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Indian doctor was let off with a reprimand after syringes were found in the team’s compound at CWG athletes village.
India’s chef-de-mission for the Commonwealth Games 2018, Vikram Singh Sisodia, talks to the media at MPC in Gold Coast, Australia on Tuesday, 3 April.
(Photo: PTI)

Just Another Day’s Work

Here’s a guess. Soon, we will be told that these things happen, and will be asked to move on. There is no doubt that India could have done without such heat and dust being raised in Gold Coast, and back home. Not a few hearts would have skipped a beat or three each, at least until it emerged on Monday evening that there was no doping violation. But all's well that ends well, we will be told.

For a nation that may have just avoided being ranked third on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s rule violations report for the fourth year in-a-row, shivers go up many spines each time an athlete tests positive or even whispers of possible anti-doping rule violations do the rounds. Of course, there are emotions, including anger and disappointment, that are sparked.

This time around, it is the sense relief that dominates the landscape after the CGF court did not impose any harsher penalties on either Dr Patil or the Indian contingent. It gained more weight when speculation of the infringement of the no-needles policy leading to a doping violation was quashed.

It is a pity that such an incident takes the spotlight away from athletes projected as medal prospects in the Commonwealth Games. It can only be hoped that the Indian contingent, especially the boxing team, will be able to shake this off its back and go about the task of showcasing its talent the best way possible.

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(G Rajaraman is a Delhi-based student of sport who has been writing and commenting for 35 years. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

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Topics:  Commonwealth Games   CWG 2018 

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