Imphal: Commonwealth Games weightlifting gold medallist Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu has knocked on the door of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to institute a high-level independent inquiry into her doping controversy.
Supporting her demand for justice, the All Kakching Khunou Sports Association on Tuesday held a rally at Kakching Khunou Bazar.
Chanu's family along with eight other civil society organisations under the banner of Joint Action Committee against Chanu Injustice Doping Conspiracy submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 27, through the office of Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh. The committee has demanded a DNA test to prove# her case against the conflicting results.
The memorandum has highlighted all aspects of the doping controversy, starting from the urine sample taken by the United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA) on November 18 in Las Vegas, prior to the start of the World Weightlifting Championship. The memorandum also mentions that Chanu's name was not included in the list announced by the International Weightlifting Federation, which included the#names of four lifters who had failed the dope test on January 23.
Chanu said her career is in jeopardy and she has been left alone after the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) refused to seek a clarification from the International Weightlifting Federation as well as from the USADA. She accused the IWF of trying to silence her voice and for threatening her about terminating her job in the railways. Chanu is employed with the Northeastern Frontier Railway (NFR) as a senior TT.
Apart from instituting a high-level, independent inquiry, the committee also urged the Prime Minister to put pressure on the IWF and the USADA to conduct a DNA test to confirm the samples taken were not hers.
Chanu had earlier submitted a memorandum to Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh, who referred it to Union sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, seeking his intervention into the matter. She has also submitted a memorandum to Manipur governor Najma Heptulla.
