New Delhi: Doubles specialist shuttler Krishna Prasad Garaga insists not to have taken any prohibited substance for which he has been banned for four years and remains determined to probe his innocence.
Garaga was part of the Indian team that won the Thomas Cup in 2022 while women’s doubles specialist Swetaparna Panda also stares at a similar sanction from National Anti Doping Agency’s (NADA) after her test results returned positive.
Garaga partners with Sai Prateek in men’s doubles events was found positive for prohibited stimulant Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) in September of last year and has been susequently suspended after NADA turned down his appeal.
“I am 100 per cent sure that nothing has entered my body. In badminton, doping is not at all common… and there is no reason for me to do anything regarding that, because I was playing decently well,” he told PTI.
“It is not like I have any tournaments coming up or anything like that. So, it is just a hormonal value which can go up and down,” he added, saying that hormonal changes might be behind his positive test result.
The 24-year-old shuttler hopes his fresh appeal will turn out to be more favourable for him as he faces an anxious wait to hear from NADA.
“We have appealed. So we are just waiting for a response from NADA but there is nothing from them yet, it’s been almost a month now,” Garaga said.
‘Random’
Garaga, who won the men’s doubles gold at the 2019 South Asian Games, said he was shocked to have been provisionally suspended and has already pleaded his case to Badminton Association of India president Himanta Biswa Sarma.
“I found out that my test came back with slightly elevated HCG levels in May. At the time, I was preparing for the US and Canada tours, so I wasn’t really focused on it. No one explained the significance of the e-mail I received from NADA.
“I didn’t think much of it. I assumed it was just a random message that didn’t need any attention.
But he has now hired a new lawyer after the previous one failed to convince NADA of his innocence.
“I am just waiting for the decision and waiting to get back on court. I am hoping that by the end of this month, something will come up before the end of this month, so that the hearing can be done in the first or second week of February.”
Krishna Prasad Garaga was found positive for prohibited stimulant HCG in September of last year and has been banned four years by NADA Badminton Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
