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The Delhi State Athletics Meet was given a surprise visit by dope testers which resulted in several athletes miss out. While the number was cut to half as the doping control officers reached the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium in Delhi.
This surprise move led to only Lalit Kumar run in 100m race as all the others flee to evade the dope test. While there were eight athletes who had qualified from heats and semifinals, but in a bizarre turn of events, it was only Lalit. However, as the sole runner, the athlete had to go with a medal and a certificate of victory. As per the rules, no medals or certificates are awarded in a race conducted with less than three participants.
In another instance, a steeplechase athlete kept on running despite crossing the finish line to evade the doping test. As reported by several media houses, a few winners skipped the medal ceremony as they thought they will be asked for the samples from the officers' present from NADA.
It is to be noted that this instance occurred after there were videos doing round on social media from the washroom showing piles of used syringes. Addressing the media, one of the officials who has been connected with the sport since long said, “It’s the first time I saw a 100m event with just one participant. As soon as the NADA officials arrived, the number of participants dropped to 50 per cent.”
