WEIGHED DOWN: Sanamacha in Athens (AFP)

Imphal, Aug. 20: When Manipur’s Sanamacha Chanu finished fourth in the 53-kg category of the women’s weightlifting competition in Athens, her family and well-wishers back home believed there could be nothing worse than missing an Olympic medal by a whisker.

Their anguish multiplied when television news bulletins and the morning newspapers announced that Chanu had not only missed out on a medal, but also failed a dope test.

“We do not believe the news. Sanamacha cannot do any such thing. Something must be wrong somewhere and she should not be blamed for it,” said her mother, Khambi Leima, at the family residence in Imphal East.

Other members of the family echoed Leima. Sanamacha’s younger sister Ibesana Chanu said: “She is a very hardworking person. She never used any unfair means to win anything, be it in the weightlifting arena or in her personal life. She would not cheat anyone.”

An inspector in the CRPF, Sanamacha’s first Olympic experience was in Sydney. She finished sixth in that edition of the Games. Her best performance was at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, where she won the gold medal in the 53-kg category. She was included in the contingent for the Athens Olympics on the strength of her showing in the World Weightlifting Championship, where she finished seventh.

For Manipur, news of Sanamacha testing positive for a banned substance was the unkindest cut after the social upheaval over the past month.

The state government had promised Rs 1 lakh to each contingent member from Manipur, Rs 10 lakh for a gold medal, Rs 7 lakh for a silver and Rs 5 lakh for a bronze. Sanamacha is, however, unlikely to get the participation incentive. Sports commissioner S. Budhachandra Singh said she would not get any cash reward if reports of her disqualification were true.

Sports associations and journalists, however, stood by Sanamacha.

“I have known Sanamacha all along. It is very hard to believe the (dope test) report,” said sports columnist Saratchand Thiyam.

Manipur Weightlifting Association secretary Sunil Elangbam said he had been trying in vain to contact Sanamacha and officials of the Indian weightlifting squad since hearing the news. “Doping tests are done frequently during training and the same procedure is followed before leaving for the Games. She never tested positive. How that happened at Athens is very surprising,” he added.

Sanamacha’s family, too, cannot wait to hear from her. But the phone at their home is out of order and they do not know how to reach her in faraway Greece.

Sanamacha began her weightlifting career by joining a programme organised by the State Weightlifting Training Centre in 1991.

The Sports Authority of India took her under its wings the very next year. She shot into the limelight after winning a gold medal in the junior national weightlifting championship in 1993.