Inam shocked by Ali’s doping news

Wrestler says youngster knew all procedures, can’t deny taking prohibited drugs

KARACHI:

“This is the first time any Pakistani wrestler has tested positive for doping. It is shocking and disappointing. It is much better to lose the competition than to cheat,” Pakistan’s multi-medal winning wrestler and the Chair of the Pakistan Athletes Commission Muhammad Inam expressed his views as he was shaken by the positive dope test of the 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Ali Asad.

Ali rose to prominence in the national circuit when he defeated national champion and the 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Muhammad Bilal in the 57kg freestyle event earlier this year, when the wrestling camp for the games began.

Ali became a sensation and was praised for his form and ability, which got him a place in the Birmingham Games’ squad.

His performance at the Games was stunning before he lost to India’s Ravi Kumar Dahiya in a close fight and then went on to bag the bronze medal with a win against New Zealand’s Suraj Singh.

Now Ali will be returning the medal that he won.

Pakistan won eight medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in August, out of which five were earned by the wrestlers.

Inam was looking for his third gold medal in the 86kg event too, but he settled with a silver after losing to India’s Deepak Punia.

But the 33-year-old is shocked at Ali’s dope test results.

“As far as I can figure this out from what we know so far, he is a new wrestler first of all, and of course he wanted to prove himself. I feel he did take the prohibited substances before even coming to the national camp,” Inam told The Express Tribune in a conversation regarding the revelation.

“I am truly disappointed because he was with us in the camp, in the training and as far as I can tell the whole environment at the national camp and with training through the Pakistan Wrestling Federation (PWF) the rules were very strict. There was a lot of supervision. I have been supervising too and, in the camp, we did not see him being involved in any suspicious behavior or actions.”

Inam added that Ali,22, had been impressive as he also defeated a much-experienced Bilal and then made good use of the opportunity at the Commonwealth Games too.

“His performances were good, but he took whatever he took before coming to the camp. I am just shocked because he was a part of three to four seminars that we held about doping and he was very much aware of the procedures and the consequences.

“At the end of the day, according to the international rules too, if the dope test shows the results to be positive it just means that the athlete took the drugs. It has been his responsibility and he can’t deny it.”

Inam explained that as the chairperson of the Athletes Commission of Pakistan, which is affiliated with the International Olympics Committee, he put out the word of precaution personally and professionally to all the athletes and sent out the updated list of prohibited substances earlier this year, before the preparations for the international events even began.

He added that the athletes were guided about the different scenarios in case they are injured and had been under medical treatment as well and they must keep their prescriptions on the record.

Some substances come under exception when an athlete is going through a treatment.

“I personally shared the list of these substances with all the updates. I told them to be careful and to be responsible. For example if any athletes or wrestler has been under medical treatment for any injuries, they must get the form filled by the doctor they are seeing. They must present the prescriptions and they must be transparent. There are exception and there are procedures through which we can inform the international organisations about the athlete and everything stays legal and honest. At the end of the day if the test result is positive, it is positive, we can’t deny the facts,” said Inam.

Strict action to be taken

While Ali can explain and contest the findings in a meeting likely to be held on Monday, Inam said that the PWF is looking to set an example.

Asad was given all the support by the PWF and the Athletes Commission when it came to dealing with his positive dope test results.

“He contacted us, the commission, and we guided him with all the information. The PWF also came for his help and even though his sample A was positive for doping, we decided to go for the Sample B,” said Inam.

“Sadly, the results were same as sample A. He really cannot deny taking the drugs.”

He said that the federation will be taking stringent measures as this is the first time any Pakistani wrestler has been tested positive for doping especially after winning the medal for the country.

“It has been the most unfortunate and sad thing, it doesn’t matter if one loses but to cheat yourself, then the wrestlers you fought against, your opponents., your country, it is just unfair to everyone, so this must be nipped in the bud, that is what the Federation secretary has told me as well,” said Inam.

“This is the first wrestler unfortunately, but hopefully the last to ever be tested positive for doping.”

The federation is clear on one point, Inam added that “no compromise to be made on this matter and strict action will be taken. Now he will face a ban, but all the actions will be taken according to the guidelines provided but the IOC and international bodies.

“This can be a two, three or four-year ban according to the findings.”

Suggestions for prevention

Inam said that to prevent such cases from emerging in the future he made suggestions to the PWF that the tests should be done regularly throughout the year and at the national championships as well.

“I have recommended to the federation that it is imperative to test the wrestlers randomly during the national championships, then to also test them randomly throughout the year at separate occasions to see what they are up to. This will send out a message to the athletes in all the sports not just wrestling that there are consequences with they are not responsible,” said Inam.

Then there comes a problem of dope test being expensive for Pakistani athlete.

Inam shared that since there is already very few specialized laboratories in the world for the dope tests, the athletes in the country must spend a hefty sum to take the test.

“The federations already have extremely limited budgets and of course it becomes exceedingly difficult to spend a few millions on a single athlete for dope tests. We don’t send our samples to India, because there is always an element of doubt, so Pakistani athletes send it to other countries where the laboratories are set up, and that costs in US dollars, we know how money’s value against dollar has gone down, so this becomes particularly challenging,” said Inam.

The Express Tribune also contacted the PWF secretary Arshad Sattar who was with the wrestlers in Birmingham, but he declined the call, whereas coach of the team GhulamFareed was also not responding to the call. The PWF President Muhammad Abdul Mobeen said that the officials are discussing the case and will be sending out more information soon.