Vijender dropped from Boxing tournaments

Zeenews Sports Bureau

New Delhi: Olympian Vijender Singh has been dropped from tournaments in Cyprus and Cuba, Boxing Federation said on Saturday. This is being seen as a consequence of Vijender missing the trial camp being held in Patiala.In an interview given to a leading news channel, the Vice President of Boxing Federation, Nivaran Mukherjee had said that trials are necessary for further selection and that he will not qualify if he does not join the trials. "Vijender is not out of the team, but he will not participate in the tournaments in Cyprus and Cuba. For the time being we will not consider him," IABF President Abhishek Matoria said. "He is an Olympic hero. It is upto him to decide which events he wants to take part. At the moment, his training has taken a blow because of the drug controversy," he said. "I have been in constant touch with Vijender and he has assured me that he is not involved in the drug scandal. He has told me that he will come out clean from the enquiry," added Matoria. "At the moment, Vijender is under severe pressure. He is hopeful of being given a clean chit in the next 10 days or so. And then he will get back to boxing. Vijender is very much an important part of Indian boxing fraternity," he said. Vijender has extended his leave three times already through NIS authorities but his latest leave extension application for two weeks was forwarded to SAI. Punjab Police had said on Friday that the Olympian has not been let off in the multi crore drug haul. The police also made it clear that a dope test conducted by NADA will not be accepted as it has no legal validity. Vijender’s name had cropped up in a massive drug haul where the police had recovered 26 kg of heroin, estimated around Rs Rs 130 crore, from NRI Kahlon`s house in Shivalik Vihar in Zirakpur on March 7. A car belonging to Vijender`s wife Archana was found by the police near the NRI`s house. Anoop Singh Kahlon, the NRI arrested in the drug haul, had confessed to have sold heroin to Vijender Singh and his sparring partner Ram Singh. With PTI inputs