Shot putter Karanveer fails dope test; out of Asian Championships

Shot putter Karanveer Singh has failed an out-of-competition dope test conducted recently and he will be pulled out of the Indian team for the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok starting next week.

Karanveer, who trains at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) in Patiala, was earlier named in the 54-member Indian team for the July 12-16 continental championships. The Indian team will leave for Thailand on Saturday night.

"Yes, that is correct," Athletics Federation of India (AFI) president Adille Sumariwalla told PTI on Saturday when asked if Karanveer had failed a dope test.

The exact date of the dope test and name of the banned substance are not known.

Earlier in the day, an Indian team source had said that Karanveer could be left out of the side leaving for Thailand from New Delhi and Bengaluru.

The 25-year-old Karanveer had won a bronze in the Federation Cup in May with a throw of 19.05m, while he was second behind Asian record holder Tajinderpal Singh Toor in the National Inter-State Championships in June with an effort of 19.78m. He is currently sixth among Asians in the season's top list.

He has a personal best of 20.10m, achieved during the National Open Championships last year.

Toor, the defending champion, will now be the lone Indian in the men's shot put event in the Asian Championships.

"He (Toor) has a bright chance of winning a gold medal," chief athletics coach Radhakrishnan Nair said.

At the 2019 edition of the championships in Doha, Toor had won gold with a throw of 20.22m. Since then he has gained in experience and currently is the continent's leading shot putter (21.77m).

"Training has been on expected lines. I'm hopeful to improve my performance in Bangkok," Toor said.

Besides men's shot put, javelin throw, long jump and triple jump are the other three field events Nair has pinned his hopes for medals.

Javelin throwers Rohit Yadav and Manu DP, long jumper Murali Sreeshankar and triple jumpers Praveen Chithravel and Abdulla Aboobacker will be ones to watch out for during the five-day continental championships in Thailand.

"The middle and long distance runners (800m, 1500m and 5000m) too have a good chance of podium in Bangkok," Nair added.

"Decathlon (Tejaswin Shankar) is also a strong point this time."

Focus in the women's track events will be 100m hurdle, 200m, 800m, 5000m and 3000m steeplechase.

Andhra Pradesh's 100m hurdles specialist Jyothi Yarraji will make her continental debut in Bangkok. Yarraji has clocked sub-13 seconds in 100m hurdles a couple of times this season and she is considered a medal contender. She will also compete in the 200m event.

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist in women's javelin throw, Annu Rani will also look to add another continental medal to her kitty. At the 2019 edition, she had won a silver.

Swapna Barman (heptathlon), Shaili Singh and Ancy Sojan (both long jump) are the other athletes in the field events who have a good chance of winning medals in Bangkok, the chief athletics coach added.

"We are also hopeful of winning medals in the men's 4x400m relay and mixed 4x400m relay in Thailand," Nair said.

In the 2019 edition, India had won 16 medals (2 gold, 7 silver, 7 bronze) to finish fifth in the medals tally.