Athletics
Star sprinter Dhanalakshmi caught in dope net
India's hopes of winning a medal in the 4x100m relay at the Commonwealth Games has received a big jolt.
Dhanalakshmi Sekar recently missed the 20-year-old national record in 200m by 0.07 seconds (AFI)
In a big jolt to the Indian athletics contingent, sprinter Dhanalakshmi, who beat both Hima Das and Dutee Chand as recently as last month, has been temporarily barred from competition after testing positive for anabolic steroids.
Dhanlakshmi tested positive in an out-of-competition test conducted by the Athlete Integrity Unit (AIU) of World Athletics, reported Amar Ujala.
The 24-year-old had qualified for the ongoing World Athletics Championships but was mysteriously not part of the travelling contingent. It had been reported earlier that she had not made the trip due to visa complications.
"My visa is yet to be done. My first visa appointment got cancelled, so trying to get it done," she had said from Thiruvananthapuram earlier this month, where she is currently training.
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It had also been reported that she was prioritising the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, but she will not be a part of that showpiece event either - putting a dent in India's hopes of getting a 4x100m relay medal at the CWG. She had been entered in the individual 100m race and the 100m women's relay event.
On June 26, she had run her personal best time of 22.89s to win 200m gold at the Qosanov Memorial Athletics Meet in Almaty, Kazakhstan and become only the third Indian woman to run sub-23s after national record holder Saraswati Saha (22.82s) and Hima Das (22.88s).
