Akash Chikte’s suspension for doping reduced to 13 months
Hockey India
Hockey goalkeeper Akash Chikte’s two-year doping suspension has been reduced to 13 months by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) after it concluded that the goalie didn’t take the prohibited substance “intentionally”. Chikte was suspended for two years earlier after a test conducted in 2018.
Akash Chikte was earlier suspended for two years by NADA after he was found taking the banned anabolic steroid (Norandrosterone) during a test which was conducted in 2018. However, the goalkeeper will be now relieved a bit after the agency found out that the act of using the banned substance was not “intentional”.
The test was conducted in February last year during a Senior National Camp in Bengaluru after he was handed over a provisional suspension by NADA’s disciplinary committee. But, now the Indian custodian’s punishment has been reduced following a hearing by the Anti-Doping Appeal Panel (ADAP) on Thursday.
“The Disciplinary Panel after going through all the records concluded that the appellant had not committed the anti-doping violation intentionally,” the ADAP said in its judgement, reported PTI.
“We are therefore of the opinion that the ineligibility of 4 years (later reduced to a minimum of 2 years) imposed on the appellant is erroneous and must be substituted by the benefit available to the appellant under the NADA Anti-Doping Rules, 2015. We hereby modify the order of the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel and subsequently the ineligibility of 4 years under Article 10.2.1 from the date of the appellants provisional suspension, i.e. 27-03-2018, is modified to a period of 13 months.”
