'Sports medicine centres can help check doping'

Arjuna award-winning Indian boxer Akhil Kumar has suggested setting up sports medicine centres all over the country to check incidents of doping as he feels athletes often end up using banned drugs due to ignorance.

"The majority of boys and girls in the country taking up careers in boxing, weightlifting and athletics are not of very sound educational background and there is also a dearth of specialist doctors having full knowledge about banned drugs," Akhil said.

"Most of these players are not aware of which medicines have to be taken/ They use them unknowingly and end up failing dope tests," he said adding that it is not right to hold the coaches fully responsbile for it.

The former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist said these medicine centres, once functional, would educate athletes about the right supplements.

Citing the example of such a centres functioning at Kingston Park in South Africa, Akhil Kumar said the athletes would be free of any apprehension of being caught on doping charges and feel free to take supplements.