British wrestler Sandhu gets four-year ban for doping violation

[March 22, 2017]    (Reuters) - British freestyle wrestler Chinu Sandhu, who won bronze at the Commonwealth Games in 2014, has been handed a four-year ban for a doping violation.

Sandhu tested positive for an anabolic steroid in an out-of-competition test administered on Sept. 20 and an independent National Anti-Doping Panel (NDAP) upheld the charge against him.

The 29-year-old had contested the charge on the grounds that he had not acted intentionally and that the positive test resulted from taking a contaminated supplement.

"Chinu Sandhu, an experienced British wrestler, has been suspended for a period of four years following a proven Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV)...," the NDAP said on the Sport Resolutions website (www.sportresolutions.co.uk) on Wednesday.

"Mr Sandhu's ban will run from 14 October 2016 until 14 October 2020," the statement added.

UK Anti-Doping chief Nicole Sapstead said that Sandhu's reputation had been "tainted because of his own actions.

"Athletes are solely responsible for any substance which is found in their system, regardless of whether there is an intention to cheat or not.

"Chinu Sandhu was one of this country's leading freestyle wrestlers having won a bronze medal at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and represented Great Britain at the European Games in Baku in 2015," she added.

(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)

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