Hammer thrower Rachna Kumari fails dope test, handed provisional suspension

Asian Games participant hammer thrower Rachna Kumari fails a dope test conducted by the Athletics Integrity Unit of the international federation, as reported by PTI. Rachna came ninth as her best throw was 58.13m at the Asiad. India finished with 107 medals, their best tally ever in the competition.

The entire Indian contingent recorded their best performance as 18 gold medals alongside 38 silver and 41 bronze proved to be the best ever display by India on Asia's biggest ever stage.

Rachna didn't have the desired performance at the Asian Games and even failed to cross the 60m mark in the hammer throw. The 30-year-old Kumari's dope sample, taken out-of-competition, was found to contain steroids Stanozolol, Metandienone and Dehydrochloromethyltestosterone (DHCMT). The test was conducted ahead of the sporting extravaganza and she has been handed a provisional suspension

A notice of allegation has been issued to her, the AIU said on its website, without giving further details.

When contacted, Kumari said she had given urine samples to officials working for a foreign dope testing agency in Patiala on September 24.

"I have not got any information that I have failed dope test, though I had given my urine sample on September 24 in Patiala," she told PTI from her home in Uttar Pradesh.

An official of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) also confirmed that Kumari has failed a dope test but refrained from giving details as it relates to the AIU.

"It is not a NADA (National Anti-Doping Agency) case but of AIU, so I don't know the details," the official said.

Kumari was part of the 68-member Indian athletics team that competed in the Hangzhou Asian Games (September 23 to October 8). She had finished ninth in the women's hammer throw event with an effort of 58.13m on September 29.

Kumari had won gold in the National Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar in June with a throw of 65.03m. She had also won a bronze medal in the recent Goa National Games with a throw of 59.85m. She has not won any international medal. 

(With PTI Inputs)