Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: The Sports Authority of India on Thursday acted tough by sacking three more coaches in the wake of the doping scandal which has seen eight top athletes failing dope tests in the last few days.
The sacked coaches include Indian relay coach RS Sidhu, weightlifting coach Naveen Kumar and gymnastics coach Praveen Kumar.
Apart from the sacking of the coaches, SAI has served show cause notices to doctors who treated the athletes.
The caretaker and the warden of girls' hostel has also been removed, according to a SAI release.
"While foreign coach Yuri has been officially relieved of his services, Indian coach R S Sidhu, who was looking after the women's 400 m, 400 m hurdles and 4x400 m relay has also been removed," a ministry official told reporters.
"Sidhu has been asked to report back to SAI Jalandhar Centre, where he was posted earlier," he added.
Eight athletes have tested positive for anabolic steroids in the last few days in the worst ever doping scandal in Indian athletics.
Asian Games double gold medallist Ashwini Akkunji, her 4x400 relay gold-winning teammates Mandeep Kaur and Sini Jose, Jauna Murmu, Tiana Mary Thomas and Priyanka Panwar were the quarter-milers who have flunked dope tests.
First Published: Thursday, July 07, 2011, 13:28