Vinesh Phogat. (Picture Credit: AP)
The NADA stated that Vinesh was not available for a dope test on September 9 at her house in Kharkhoda village in Sonepat and had thus committed a whereabouts failure.
Vinesh Phogat was issued with a notice for whereabouts failure by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) on Wednesday. NADA sought an explanation from the 30-year-old within 14 days pertaining to the same.
All athletes registered with NADA’s Registered Testing Pool (RTP) are required to provide details about their availability for dope tests, and if they aren’t found available at the provided location at that given time, it is considered a whereabouts failure.
The NADA stated that Vinesh was not available for a dope test on September 9 at her house in Kharkhoda village in Sonepat and had thus committed a whereabouts failure.
“You are hereby given a formal notice to notify you about apparent failure to comply with the whereabouts requirements of the ADR, and to invite you to make any comments before we come to a final decision on the matter,” the notice read.
“A Dope Control Officer (DCO) was sent to test you on that day at that time and place. However, he was unable to locate you for testing as you were not available at the given location,” the statement continued.
Vinesh is required to provide evidence that she was indeed present at the location for a duration of about an hour or accept the whereabouts failure.
It is to be noted that three whereabouts failures in a period of 12-months could prove as grounds for NADA to charge the athlete.
Vinesh had announced her retirement from the sport after her Paris Olympics campaign ended in heartbreak, where she made the final but was disqualified ahead of her gold-medal bout for being overweight.
Vinesh and fellow wrestler Bajrang Punia joined the Congress party recently and she is contesting the upcoming Haryana Assembly election from Julana constituency.
