Tokyo 2020: Seven months ahead of Olympics, 2 Indian hopefuls fail dope test

Seven months ahead of the Tokoyo Olympics, two Indian hopefuls reportedly have tested positive for banned substances, according to the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA).

The athletes who have failed the doping test are shooter Ravi Kumar and boxer Sumit Sangwan.

Sangwan, who participated at the London Olympics, tested positive for acetazolamide, a diuretic and masking agent banned by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Ahead of Tokyo 2020, India was rooting on the 26-year-old, who recently won silver at the 2017 Asian Championship.

Traces of propranolol, a medication to treat high blood pressure that is banned by the WADA, were found in shooter Ravi's sample. With two Asian Games and a Commonwealth Games' medals under his belt, the 29-year-old shooter has shocked his fraternity as you certainly do not expect this from an Indian Air Force officer.

However, the World Cup-winning rifle shooter has insisted that he took the banned substance by mistake and hoped that his explanation would help him get a lighter punishment from NADA.

"I had taken the medicine to treat migraine inadvertently. It was after being prescribed by my doctor at home days before I was tested during the Kumar Surendra Nath Memorial Meet in May-June.

I explained everything to Nada and they understood but told me that my only mistake was that I did not disclose while being tested that I had taken the medicine, which contains a substance that is banned in shooting. It is used for migraine and high blood pressure," Kumar, who has not been with the Indian team since the World Cup last year in May, told PTI.

The 29-year-old is aware that his Olympic dream is over now but he wanted to ensure he clears his name and gets back to action soon.

"My last World Cup was in Munich and I feel four years of my hard work for the Olympics is going down the drain. But I hope the result will come quickly, this month, and I will fight till the last moment" he added in his interview.