Two Indian athletes flunk dope test; suspended

New Delhi: Doping came back to haunt Indian athletics with two top women quarter-milers returning positive for a banned substance in tests conducted by the International Association of Athletics Federations.

The athletes have subsequently been banned after thier `B` sample also returned positive for banned substances. The `A` samples of the two 400m runners taken by an international agency -- International Doping Tests and Management of Sweden -- on behalf of the IAAF at NIS Patiala and tested at National Dope Testing Laboratory had returned positive for prohibited substance, a NADA source said. One of the two was a member of the women`s 400m relay quartet that had won gold in the Commonwealth Games here last October and in the Asian Games in Guangzhou last November. The other had missed out a podium finish in the 400m race in the Asian Games.The banned substance is expected to be revealed soon. Both the athletes had their `B` samples tested on Monday at the NDTL. The development is a huge setback for the country as both were in the yet-to-be-announced Indian team for the Asian Athletics Championships to be held in Kobe, Japan from July 7.The IAAF is expected to impose a provisional two-year suspension after the `B` sample results also test positive for the banned drug. PTI