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    Mark Palmer •

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    India's Yadav fails doping test, blames sabotage

    Narsingh Yadav, set to wrestle for India in men's freestyle at 74 kilograms/163 pounds at the 2016 Rio Olympics, has tested positive for a banned steroid ... with the 74 kilogram/163 pound wrestler blaming sabotage.

    Narsingh Yadav
    "I believe that there is foul play involved in this entire episode," said Yadav. "Someone has sabotaged my food supplements and water intake. I take pride in the fact that I have competed in every competition, international and domestic, in an honest, fair and transparent manner and I will continue to do so. I am a responsible athlete with an understanding of the country's expectations and hopes on me. I would never dream of betraying that hope."

    The national anti-doping agency (NADA) revealed Sunday that both of Yadav's samples from an out-of-competition test came back positive. The 26-year-old wrestler has already attended a hearing to present his case before an anti-doping disciplinary panel. on Saturday.

    The disciplinary panel had asked NADA for further details and is expected to return with a verdict within one week. NADA Director General Navin Agarwal said by telephone.

    "Narsingh was surprised with the positive result," NADA Director General Navin told Reuters. "He kept on saying, 'why would I volunteer for a test if I knew I had taken something illegal?"

    Yadav earned the 74 kg slot for India at the Rio Olympics by winning a bronze medal at last year's World Championships in Las Vegas. However, Yadav's spot was put in jeopardy when Sushil Kumar, who won a bronze medal at 66 kg/145 lb. weight class at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a silver at the London Games four years later, went to court to be put on team India to wrestle in Rio. The court ruled against Kumar, clearing the way for Yadav to compete at next month's Olympics.

    Yadav has competed on the world stage for a number of years. Among his accomplishments: a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, and silver at the 2011 Melbourne Commonwealth Championships. Yadav qualified for the 2012 Olympics, but lost his opening-round bout to Stanford grad Matt Gentry (wrestling for Canada) and was knocked out of the tournament.

    Yadav is at least the second prospective Olympic wrestler to have been disqualified for failing a drug test. Earlier this month, the Australian Olympic Committee asked Wrestling Australia to withdraw Vinod Kumar -- a native of India -- as a member of the Greco-Roman wrestling squad for the 2016 Olympics over an alleged doping violation.
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