New Delhi: Breaking her silence over the positive drug test, discus thrower Neelam Jaswant Singh has claimed innocence, saying the banned stimulant found in her sample could be the result of ‘contamination’.

“I would be out of my mind to commit such a sporting hara kiri at this point of my career,” said Neelam at a press conference on Monday.

Neelam tested positive for pemoline at the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki. She said that she expected a ‘sympathetic hearing’ from the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).

Neelam, a gold medallist in the Busan Games and a silver medallist in the Commonwealth Games, said she had been tested more than 30 times in and out of competition and had never been found positive. “I don’t know from where traces of pemoline were found in my sample,” she said.

“As I am a patient of EIA (exercise-induced asthma), I am using inhalers,” she said. Neelam also added that she had declared all dietary supplements and vitamins she was taking when she was tested in Helsinki.

“The TUE (therapeutic use exemption) certificate was granted to me for the World Championships. The IAAF medical commission told me that they are thinking of providing me TUE till the next Olympics considering the severity of my medical case,” Neelam said.

Neelam will now have to appear before an AFI tribunal, which will consider her case. “I feel that I deserve a sympathetic hearing from them,” she said.

Her coach and husband Jaswant Singh defended their trip to Ukrainian capital Kiev from July 29 to August 5 before the Helsinki event.

“We are devastated and shattered at the doping scandal and hope that it is resolved soon,” said Jaswant.