Indian wrestler Sumit Malik has been banned for two years by the United World Wrestling (UWW) after his B sample also returned positive for a prohibited stimulant.
The 28-year-old has one week to decide if he would accept the sanction or challenge it. In a jolt to the Indian wrestlers’ campaign in the Tokyo Olympics, 125kg freestyle wrestler Malik had tested positive for the banned substance methylhexaneamine (MHA). Eight Indian wrestlers, four each in men and women’s freestyle, have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics.As per World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) list of prohibited substances, MHA is prohibited in-competition only as a specified stimulant.
Four years ago, before the Rio Olympics, 74kg wrestler Narsingh Yadav had failed a dope test and was withdrawn from the Olympics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) handed the Indian wrestler a four-year suspension for the doping violation.
