The doping scandal in Indian athletics grew in proportion on Monday with two more athletes,including country's new golden girl Ashwini Akkunji,testing positive for anabolic steroids,hours before their departure for Japan for the Asian Championships. Apart from Akkunji,another quartermiler Priyanka Panwar also returned positive for anabolic steroids in the dope tests conducted on June 27 by NADA at NIS Patiala,taking the tally of dope offenders to eight in the last few days. Both tested positive for metabolites of methandienone,the same anabolic steroid which was found in the samples of five of the six other athletes who have flunked dope tests in the last few days. Interestingly,Akkunji and Priyanka's dope flunk came from the tests on the 30 samples conducted by NADA for the Asian Championships-bound athletes on the request of AFI. The development is all the more shocking as Akkunji,who had won gold in Commonwealth and Asian Games last year,and Panwar were to leave for Japan for July 7-10 Asian Championships by an 11:30 pm flight from here along with 35 other athletes. It,however,saved the country from embarrassment and the shame that would have brought had these two athletes been caught at the Asian Championships at Kobe,Japan. Athletics Federation of India has provisionally suspended both the athletes pending a hearing by a NADA disciplinary panel. "It is sad to announce that two more athletes Ashwini Akkunji and Priyanka Panwar - tested positive for anabolic steroids. We have provisionally suspended them. Next,they will be called for 'B' sample tests and then the necessary procedure will be followed," AFI Director M L Dogra told reporters.
