Delhi Dynamos centre-back Rana Gharami blames pollution in Kolkata for failed dope test
(Courtesy : ISL Media)
The Lions' defender is currently serving a provisional suspension imposed by NADA.
The last few months have been a nightmare for Delhi Dynamos defender Rana Gharami, after he was provisionally suspended for allegedly using a banned substance. The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) had undertaken an in-competition drug test on the centre-back in late January.
It was revealed in late April that his blood samples contained Prednisone and 20-B-OH Prednisolone metabolites as well. For those unitiated, Prednisone is a substance which is used for the treatment of breathing and immune system disorders. According to the Times of India, Rana has requested NADA to show him leniency since it wasn’t his intention to use any abusive drug.
In his appeal penned to the agency he’s stated, “During my stay in Kolkata, I fell ill with viral fever and visited a doctor, who prescribed me some medicines. Even after the first round of medicines, I was still having high fever and went back to the doctor who gave me another set of medicines (on January 3) as I was having a problem breathing due to the bad pollution in Kolkata during the winter month of December.”
Moreover, Gharami has also attached flight tickets and a boarding pass to show him having travelled to Kolkata on December 17th, when the Indian Super League (ISL) went on its winter break. He has also attached two prescriptions from a doctor in Howrah to his appeal.
Furthermore, he also alleges in his appeal that he had no understanding of any illegal substances being in the medicines he took. He further explained, “Obviously as the medicine was prescribed by a doctor, without any hesitation, I took the same with least understanding that one or more of the medicines prescribed would contain a prohibitive substance.”
The 28-year-old also said that him not applying for a Therapeutic Use Exemptionn (TCE), which allows sportsmen to use prohibited medicine to treat a legitimate medical condition- was simply because he was unaware the medicine had a banned substance.
[KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]“As I am not a doctor or a trained medical person, how could I be aware of the composition of the medicine given to me? The doctor did not tell me it contained any banned substance and I did not even think at any time to apply for TUE, given the fact that I had high fever, and was having problems breathing due to high pollution at Kolkata at the time.” Gharami further added.
While he’s only on a provisional suspension for now, things could get worse for the former Mohun Bagan centre-back. Gharami can be handed a four-year ban should NADA decide that his use of a banned substance was intentional.
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