One month and counting....

so it is 1 month till the "Games" and the circus is primed to begin... the drama has begun a long time ago and the truth is that there is never a dull moment in indian sport.... the news of the day today is that 5 wrestlers have failed a dope test and now their participation is in jeopardy. my concerns are only with one of the wrestlers Mausam Khatri who is one of my kids....

the wrestlers have already been shamed with their names and pictures on the front page of the Times of India but has anyone really thought for a second...

FACT- WRESTLERS COME FROM UNEDUCATED AND RURAL BACKGROUNDS

FACT- NONE OF THEM WILL EVEN BE ABLE TO SPELL HALF OF "METHYLHEXAMINE"

FACT- THIS DRUG IS UNKNOWN IN WRESTLING CIRCLES TO HAVE ANY BENEFITS

FACT- NADA FREQUENTLY MAKES MISTAKES WHEN TESTING DUE TO UNPROFESSIONAL SAMPLING METHODS.

FACT- MANY INDIAN SPORTS HAVE A DOPING PROBLEM

I was in just as much shock last night when i heard the news and my first reaction was that i need to reprimand Mausam and the course of punishment, however as i thought about the situation more it is not the wrestler to be blamed.

the first point is that he has no idea what he has taken, although he is taking supplementation his roommate who is on the same supplements as him has tested negative. The second and more important point is that that wrestling federation and Sports authority of india had told me last year that because they need to "professionally" prepare for the Games they don't want the boys training in any world renowned centers but they want them under their control through the duration of the camp. So i do believe that the first people i should point my finger to is them??? what kind of control is this that the wrestlers have been given tainted supplements??? indian athletes have no idea what they are taking, and work solely on trust, even if i give them a pharmacy full of pills and tell them it is good for them they will blindly take it. Although one school of thought is that the athletes need to "smarten up" the real point is that the administrators need to be even more thorough and vigilant.

the second and more valid point is that NADA (national doping agency) is not exactly professional in their collection and maintenance of samples so as is normal procedure all the atheletes will have their "B" samples tested... Shouldn't those results have been published before announcing results??? Them possibly testing positive will make the front page but them being acquited won't even make a side column anywhere.... so really what have we achieved other than an athlete possibly ruining his reputation.