Arooj suspended for doping

LAHORE: Pakistan’s female sprinter Arooj Kiran has tested positive for using prohibited substances and has been provisionally suspended until the resolution of the case.

According to well-placed sources, Arooj’s A sample collected on September 4 by a team of the Anti-Doping Organisation of Pakistan (ADOP) had been sent to the WADA-accredited laboratory in Qatar and highly credible sources confirmed that the result is positive.

Sources said that Arooj had the option until October 20 to confirm if she wanted her B sample tested. When approached by this correspondent, Arooj refused to comment on it.

It is pertinent to mention here that the urine samples of 33 players had been collected before Pakistan’s contingent’s departure for the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou. Of these the results of five players have been withheld. Arooj and 400 metre specialist Sahib-e-Asra were also among those five athletes whose dope test results had been withheld for the purpose of retest.

Following the development both Arooj and Sahib-e-Asra had been stopped by the Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) from leaving for Hangzhou to feature in the Asian Games. However after a few hours surprisingly both were allowed to travel to China to feature in the quadrennial event. Sources said that the result of the dope test of Sahib-e-Asra has not yet been received by the sports authorities.

Pakistan’s sports have been facing doping scandals for the last couple of years as a number of weightlifters, athletes, wrestlers and kabaddi players tested positive and they all are serving suspension these days.

The other day a kabaddi player Adil Hussain, whose’ A sample had been collected during the Asian Games in Hangzhou, failed dope test and he has been suspended. Pakistan kabaddi team has secured bronze medal in the quadrennial event.