The mystery over Asian Games gold medallist VK Vismaya is over. The member of the 4x400m relay team that won the gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games has been given a two-year suspension by the anti-doping disciplinary panel. Her name figures in the list of sanctioned athletes updated recently by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).
She is to serve her two-year ineligibility suspension from March 6. She was provisionally suspended by the NADA after her sample showed presence of clomiphene.
Categorised in S4 of hormone and metabolic modulators, it is banned due to it being a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) used by athletes “to moderate side effects of anabolic steroid use or to restore natural testosterone production.”
Vismaya’s sample was collected in Perumbavoor, near Kochi, in an out-of-competition test in August 2024 following which she was issued a provisional suspension in September. Vismaya had claimed that she used it as a fertility drug.
In other orders, the NADA has suspended sprinter N Shanmuga Srinivas and Chelimi Pratyusha for four years and three years, respectively.
While Shanmuga will serve his suspension from March 6, 2025, Pratyusha will serve her suspension from February 2, 2025. These were the two athletes that were helped by the junior national athletics coach N Ramesh. This is the same case where Ramesh as per the dope collecting officer’s report had prevented an athlete from signing the notification form and then asked the athlete to leave the GMC Balayogi Stadium. The dope collecting officer said it showed “malicious intent and prevented the collection of necessary samples”.
Subsequently, the Dronacharya winning athletics coach was issued a suspension order for evasion. However, last month the anti-doping appeals panel revoked his suspension.
The panel chaired by Geetanjali Sharma and including former hockey captain Rani Rampal and Dr Rana Changappa lifted his suspension in a 2-1 verdict.
