NADA notice to wrestler Vinesh Phogat: She was not found at home in Sonepat, no contact even on phone; Will have to answer in 14 days

Vinesh Phogat.

International wrestler Vinesh Phogat has been issued a notice by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for not being found at his place. According to media reports, “The Dope Control Officer (DCO) visited Pratap Colony’s address in Sonipat on June 27, but Vinesh was not found there. She was not even available on phone.”

Vinesh will return to competitive wrestling from today i.e. Thursday from the Budapest Ranking Series 2023. The competition will end on July 16 in Hungary.

Husband Somveer Rathi also did not answer
Reports suggested that the DCO spent more than 40 minutes trying to reach her at the time and also called her husband Somveer Rathi, but there was no response from him. NADA project officer Ankush Gupta has asked Vinesh to answer for his failure to comply with the ADR’s whereabouts requirements.

Athletes who are part of the Registered Testing Pool (RTP) are required to use the Anti-Doping Administration Management System to update their whereabouts every 3 months. In which they have to include their address, email address, phone number, work schedule, training venue and schedule.

Vinesh is a part of RTP since December 2022. Although this is the first time this has happened to Vinesh in the last 12 months, it will not be considered as an anti-doping rule violation.

Penalty for 3 whereabouts failures in 12 months
Vinesh Phogat has 14 days to respond to this notice. However this is the first time in over a year that they have experienced a base failure. An anti-doping rule violation that results in three whereabouts failures during a 12-month period is punishable by a two-year sentence.

Asian Games 2023 trial on July 22 and 23
According to the adhoc body set up to oversee the Wrestling Federation of India, the trials for the Asian Games 2023 will be held in New Delhi on July 22 and 23. Trials will be held for the women’s and Greco-Roman teams on the first day.

The next day will be freestyle trials. The trials for the World Championship will be held on August 10 and 11. The Commission is yet to hear from the wrestlers protesting against their participation in the trials for the Asian Games. Sakshi Malik and Satyavrat Kadian are training in the US, while Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat are in Kyrgyzstan.