Australia kicked out of kabaddi 'World Cup' for drugs
The event, being held in the northern state of Punjab, has brought 14 teams together from across the world to play the popular and highly physical South Asian game, which mixes tag with wrestling.
The "World Cup" -- which is not officially recognised as there is no international governing body for the sport -- has so far seen 29 players test positive for banned substances since it began on November 1.
Five Australians failed dope tests and two others refused to give urine samples, leaving the country unable to field a team for their match against Afghanistan on Saturday.
"Five of Australia's players tested positive in anti-dope tests and two absconded maybe out of fear of facing such a test," organising secretary Pargat Singh told AFP.
"Since eight players have to be on the ground, Australia failed to have a quorum at a group stage match yesterday and so have been disqualified. They are out of the tournament."
Afghanistan were awarded the match in a walkover.
Kabaddi players from Canada, Britain, the United States, Norway, Spain and India have been among those to have failed drug tests.
US team member Manjinder Singh allegedly tried to substitute his urine samples with water and verbally abused National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) staff when he was caught, the Times of India reported.
"With so many players caught in (the) doping net, it will be set a good precedent for next year," NADA director general Rahul Bhatnagar told the Times.
"But at the same time it leaves many questions unanswered on the fair play in the tournament. Doping is nothing but cheating. I don't know what organisers are going to do about it in this year's event."
Officials declined to identify the banned substances but press reports said some were for the anabolic steroid nandrolone.
Kabaddi involves an individual player raiding the opposition team's territory while chanting "kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi" until he runs out of breath.
His opponents, who generally hold hands, try to snare him and stop him from returning to his home base.
Group stages of the World Cup are due to be completed on Wednesday, with India among the favourites to win the finals at the Guru Nanak stadium in Ludhiana on November 20.
Arch-rivals Pakistan lodged a complaint last week after members of the US team -- that they lost to 39-43 -- gave positive tests.
The tournament is also running a women's event involving four national sides.
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@DILU: "What a shame that even after living abroad, Indians were not able to change themselves." - so you mean all those Pakistanis living abroad are saints??? - I don't understand why you Pakistanis are having such attitude against Indians... A joint Duke University – UC Berkeley study revealed that Indian immigrants have founded more engineering and technology companies from 1995 to 2005 than immigrants from the UK, China, Taiwan and Japan combined. A University of California, Berkeley, study reported that one-third of the engineers in Silicon Valley are of Indian descent, while 7% of valley hi-tech firms are led by Indian CEOs. Indians, along with other Asians, have one of the highest educational levels of all ethnic groups in the U.S. Almost 67% of all Indians have a bachelor's or high degree (compared to 28% nationally and 44% average for all Asian American groups). Almost 40% of all Indians in the United States have a master’s, doctorate or other professional degree, which is five times the national average. The above examples I have given are just a tip of an Ice Berg about the Indian community's achievement in USA and where ever the Indian community have gone abroad they are well respected community so don't make generalse Indian community for few people's mistake. Can I say all Pakistanis are terrorist? - because most of the terror acts happened in UK and USA are orcharstred by people of Pakistan origin, I can't make a genrlaise comment for few Pakistani mistakes, same way you can't make such comments against Indians...
Although teams were from different countries but they consisted of mainly Indian players. What a shame that even after living abroad, Indians were not able to change themselves.
send them behind bars!
What about american team? Who attacked on Pakistani coach Akhtar Abbas.
Kabaddi and drugs makes sense. Each player wants to touch and run fast whereas the other wants to catch and overpower him. Makes sense. Let them take whatever it takes they give to horses, donkeys and mules. Salams
I may be wrong but essentially all these teams are made from players having background to Indian or Pakistani punjab! These guys are famous in taking whatever "tonic" read "tanic" available! Silly ignorance maybe! :~)
I think they all went to India for drugs
Indians should have tested their players before lol.
Kabbadi Kabbadi Kabbadi
Wow....where are those who want to ban entire team for cheating in cricket....?