NADA issues notice to Vinesh Phogat for whereabouts failure, asks for response in...

The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) reported that Vinesh was not present for a scheduled doping test on September 9 at her residence in Kharkhoda village in Sonepat, resulting in a whereabouts failure.

Following her disqualification from the Paris Olympics in August, Vinesh announced her retirement citing a lack of motivation to continue. The 29-year-old wrestler, who was disqualified for being 100 grams overweight before her 50kg category gold medal match, shared her decision on social media.

All athletes enrolled in NADA's Registered Testing Pool (RTP), including Vinesh, are required to provide information about their availability for doping tests. Failure to be present at the specified location and time constitutes a whereabouts failure.

In a formal notice, NADA informed Vinesh that she had allegedly committed a whereabouts failure by missing the doping test on September 9 at her residence in Kharkhoda village in Sonepat.

After her disappointing performance at the Paris Olympics, Vinesh decided to retire from wrestling. Despite reaching the final, she was disqualified from the gold-medal match due to her weight.

Recently, Vinesh and fellow wrestler Bajrang Punia joined the Congress party, with Vinesh running for a seat in the upcoming Haryana Assembly election from the Julana constituency. Currently, she is actively engaged in campaigning in the Julana constituency.

"You are hereby given a formal notice to notify you about apparent failure to comply with the whereabouts requirements of the ADR, and to invite you to make any comments before we come to a final decision on the matter," the NADA notice read.

"A Dope Control Officer (DCO) was sent to test you on that dav at that time and place. However, he was unable to locate you for testing as you were not available at the given location."

Vinesh must either acknowledge the failure or provide evidence of her presence at the specified location for a minimum of 60 minutes.

It is important to note that a single failure to report whereabouts does not automatically result in an anti-doping rule violation. NADA requires three failures within a 12-month period, whether they are missed tests or filing failures, in order to take action against an athlete.

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