Suspension upto 2 years, not 4: NADA corrects doping whereabouts penalty

New Delhi, June 10 (SocialNews.XYZ) Hours after saying that athletes failing to report about their whereabouts could be suspended for up to four years, the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) did a u-turn and have changed the quantum of punishment.

On Wednesday, NADA at first advised athletes to submit their whereabouts every three months in advance, saying failing to do the same could lead to suspension for upto a period of four years. In a statement, the agency said it has also issued notices to athletes in its National Registered Testing Pool (NRTP) who failed to provide their whereabouts. However, hours later, they deleted the tweet and came up with a new statement saying that athletes failing to report their whereabouts on three instances could be suspended for upto two years.

"All athletes in NRTP of NADA are required to submit their whereabouts every three months in advance. Those who fail to do so have been issued notices. Three such notices amounts to Anti-Doping Rule Violation for which an athlete can be suspended for upto two years," said the anti-doping agency in the new tweet.

The deleted tweet read: "All athletes in NRTP of NADA are required to submit their whereabouts every three months in advance. Those who fail to do so have been issued notices. Three such notices amounts to Anti-Doping Rule Violation for which an athlete can be suspended for upto four years."

Athletes are required to provide regular updates on their whereabouts to make it possible for anti-doping authorities to carry out surprise testing outside of competition.

A violation occurs when the athlete either did not fill out forms telling the authorities where they could be found, or if they weren't present where they said they would be when testers arrived.

Source: IANS