The Uttar Pradesh Weightlifting Association (UPWA) does not seem content with the decision of the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) for putting a one-year ‘ban’ on Lucknow SAI Centre of Excellence weightlifting coach GP Sharma for allegedly helping his trainees take performance-enhancing drugs.

Talking to The Indian Express, UPWA General Secretary Sahdev Yadav claimed that recently about nine girls left the Centre and had conveyed to him over phone that Sharma does not treat them well as he uses “abusive language” for them and “encourages” them to take “medicines”.

He further alleged that a lifter who had been banned on doping charges during the national championships in 2006 was also allowed by Sharma to participate in the state championships before her two-year ban ended.

“We discussed all this in the general body meet held in April this year at Meerut and a life ban was put on Sharma by the UPWA. We appealed the IWF to do the same. The UPWA president Harbhajan Singh, who is also the IWF president, formed a three member committee in the state to look into the matter.

I had sent the report of the committee in this regard to the IWF. I will fight the issue further because the UPWA aims at doing away with doping in the state and from country,” he said.

When contacted, Sanjay Saraswat, Director SAI Sub-Centre Lucknow, said that action can only be taken against a coach only when the sports federation sends its reports to him or to his superiors at Delhi. “

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