NADA officials absent on first day of Federation Cup Athletics

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Not a single official from the National Anti-Doping Agency turned up on the opening day of the Federation Cup National Senior Athletics Championships here and national record breaker pole vaulter Subramani Siva could not be dope tested. Athletics Federation of India officials said Siva is likely to be tested tomorrow morning after the NADA officials arrive. The officials said they have informed NADA about the championships on time.

National records are ratified only after dope tests of the medal winners are conducted and samples tested. Meanwhile, national record holder woman half miler Tintu Luka is set to miss the upcoming Commonwealth Games as she missed the Federation Cup. She skipped the event as she was recovering from jaundice. Her focus will now be on the Asian Games.

"She has recovered from a bout of jaundice but she needs to be competition fit. So she skipped this meet. She will now focus on Asian Games," the official said. The 28-year-old Luka has never done well in CWG while she has won a medal each in the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games. She participated in the 2010 and 2014 CWG but failed to finish on the podium.

Veteran men's discus thrower Vikas Gowda also will miss the 2018 CWG as he is not taking part here. The 34-year-old Gowda, who is based in the United States, has won a gold in 2014 CWG and a silver in 2010 Delhi Games.

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