PSB conducts dope tests ahead of South Asian Games

KARACHI: In a bid to avoid any embarrassment, Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has conducted the dope tests of the target athletes ahead of the 12th South Asian Games which will be held in the Indian cities of Guwahati and Shillong from February 6-16.

“Since it is not possible to conduct the dope tests of the whole contingent, which has around 400 athletes, we have conducted the tests of some target athletes,” PSB’s Deputy Director General Rehabilitation and Treatment Dr Waqar Ahmed told ‘The News’ on Friday.

“It is quite difficult to conduct the tests of all the athletes as a single test costs us around 300 dollars,” he said.

However, he was quick to add that their main focus was to raise the awareness of the athletes and officials.

“We regularly deliver lectures to the athletes and officials on this issue and inform them about the consequences,” he said.

“We once had to face such a problem during an international assignment. So, we are making every effort in order to avert any such incident,” said Waqar, who is also a member of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA).

He said when two or three athletes of a team in a team event are tested positive, the whole side is scratched from the particular event.

In 2006 Colombo South Asian Games, boxers Mehrullah and Faisal Karim were tested positive. The duo were then stripped of their medals and subsequently banned.

This correspondent has also learnt that some federations have taken surety bonds from their athletes and they have been told to pay heavy fine besides sanctions if they used any prohibited substance.

In a routine exercise, random dope tests of the national athletes are conducted. The organisers of any international event also advice the participating nations to conduct the dope tests of their athletes before fielding them.

The PSB Director General Akhtar Nawaz Ganjera also said that the Board always took the doping issue seriously.

“Our special wing is doing a good job to keep a check on this menace through awareness campaigns and random tests. We don’t have the facility to conduct the test in Pakistan, so we send them abroad, which needs a lot of money when you are conducting tests on such a large scale,” Ganjera told this correspondent.