Vinesh Phogat receives notice from anti-doping agency for whereabouts failure
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Wrestler-turned-politician Vinesh Phogat has been issued a notice by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) regarding a whereabouts failure.
As a member of NADA's Registered Testing Pool (RTP), Vinesh is required to provide details about her location for doping tests. Athletes in the RTP must be available at the location they report, and if found unavailable, it constitutes a whereabouts failure.
The notice, dated Wednesday, stated that Vinesh was not present for a scheduled dope test on September 9 at her residence in Kharkhoda village, Sonepat. This marks an apparent failure to comply with the anti-doping regulations.
Vinesh, who recently retired from wrestling after her Paris Olympics campaign ended due to a disqualification for being overweight, has shifted her focus to politics. She, along with wrestler Bajrang Punia, joined the Congress party and is currently contesting in the Haryana Assembly elections from the Julana constituency. Her election campaign has kept her occupied in recent days.
NADA's notice asked Vinesh to explain her unavailability within 14 days.
According to the notice, a Dope Control Officer (DCO) was unable to locate her at the specified time and location for testing. Vinesh must either accept the failure or provide evidence that she was present at the designated location for at least 60 minutes.
A single whereabouts failure does not amount to an anti-doping rule violation. An athlete must accumulate three failures - either filing failures or missed tests - within a 12-month period for NADA to take further action.