Vinod KumarThe Australian Olympic Committee has asked Wrestling Australia to withdraw Vinod Kumar as a member of the Greco-Roman wrestling squad for the 2016 Olympics over an alleged doping violation.
The AOC said Kumar tested positive in April at the African/Oceania Olympic qualifier in Algeria where he won a silver medal. Both his A and B samples reportedly tested positive. The organization has not named the drug.
The AOC said Kumar had been suspended for four years but had 30 days to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. His biography has been deleted from the official AOC website, replaced by portraits of Australian athletes who will be competing at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil next month.
United World Wrestling has been informed of the situation, and has said it will reallocate his position in the 66 kilogram/145-pound weight class in Greco to an athlete from another country.
Kumar moved to Australia in 2010 and he started training at the United Wrestling Club under former Wresting Australia President Kuldip Bassi.
Kumar had won six national championships and "countless" medals at the Australia Cup and Canberra Cup tournaments, according to an April 2016 feature article about the four members of the Australian Olympic wrestling team at the official AOC website.
When he qualified for the Australian team last spring, Kumar said, "At this moment, I feel very proud to be representing Australia and feel very fortunate to be a part of the Olympic team."
With Kumar being banned, Australia will be sending only three men to wrestle in Rio -- two competing in freestyle, and one in Greco-Roman.
The last time an Australian wrestler won a medal at the Olympics: the 1948 Games in London, when two -- Jim Armstrong and Dick Garrard -- took home bronze and silver respectively.
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