Narsingh was beaten by his compatriots, says IOA Chief

After Narsingh Yadav was slapped with a four-year ban for a positive drug test by the Court of Arbitration for Sports on Wednesday, IOA chief Rajeev Mehta said that it was not any of Narsingh’s opponents, but few others in India were responsible for the situation.

"It's not just a loss for Narsingh at the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sports), but he was beaten by his compatriots, who did not want to let him compete at the Olympics, and not by his opponents," he told PTI after the verdict was delivered by the ad-hoc division of the CAS.

Mehta, who was also a part of the hearing and the verdict, said, "The picture is clear and neither I nor anyone has to say who's done the foul play. If you go back, you can easily connect the dots and would clearly know who could be the suspect."

Mehta also hoped that they will try and cut down the four-year ban laid down by the CAS.

"As of now, the culprits have been successful in stopping him from the Olympics, though we may challenge the order and minimise the ban. It's a loss for the country," he added.

Mehta also called out for the government to stop such situations from arising in the future by digging deep into the matter.

"We must go deep into the matter and the government should initiate a CBI inquiry into the matter. It's not a small thing, it's plaguing our country's sport and we must nip this in the bud."

After the verdict, Narsingh can now seek judicial recourse at the Swiss Federal Tribunal but chances are slim.