Pak Olympian to appeal against doping ban

Karachi: A PakistanI Olympian, Sadaf Siddiqui, has decided to challenge a two-year ban imposed on her for failing an out-of-competition dope test in a training camp for the Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Siddiqui and Javaria Hasan were banned for two-years each last month by the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) for testing positive in the dope test. The PSB set up an appellate tribunal to hear their appeals against the ban but the tribunal at a hearing yesterday upheld the ban on the female athletes. Sadaf said she would be challenging the ban in a court of law."I will challenge it because I am innocent I didn`t use any banned substances or performance enhancing stimulants. I took simple medicine and it was the job of the instructors and PSB to advice us on which medicine we can use and not use," she said. The Olympian sprinter said that every year the PSB and Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) organize many seminars on doping but at no seminar or workshop are the athletes invited for education. "The athletes are not properly educated on the strict anti-doping policies now prevalent in the world so why blame them for something they do out of not having enough knowledge," Sadaf said.The athlete said if she didn`t get justice from a court of law she would even appeal to the WADA for a hearing into her appeal. Both athletes were frontrunners to be picked for the Commonwealth Games but are now suspended. The PSB and POA have also decided against sending a full-fledged athletics squad to the games in India later this year. PTI