Justice for Monika

Don't disclose B sample result: Delhi HC
Imphal, Dec 4: The Delhi High Court has ruled that the B sample test result of weightlifter L Monika Devi should not be disclosed without the permission of the court.
An order to this effect was passed by Chief Justice AP Shah and Justice S Muralidhar on November 26 cting a petition jointly filed by Monika Devi, Ex-MLA L Ibomcha Singh and retired Medical Director Dr Th Suresh Singh.
The joint petition prayed for the intervention of the High Court in taking up necessary action against the officials responsible for the last minute exclusion of Monika Devi from the Beijing Olympics and for giving compensation by the Union of India for the mental harassment caused to the lifter.
The petition also contended the report of the urine sample of Monika taken during the Olympic trial as invalid.
Jan 7, 2009 has been fixed for the the next hearing.
The Sangai Express

Court issues notice on Monika plea

Thoiba Singh Speaks Out

IHF should give proper attention to junior level: Thoiba
Guwahati: The former star of the Indian hockey team Thoiba Singh, who was in the city to join a sit-in-strike organized by North East Student Organization (NESO) to seek justice for weightlifter Monika Devi, said that lack of proper training facilities to the junior players is the reason behind the downfall of Indian hockey. Here is the excerpt.
Q: This time India failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. Your reaction.

A: I was really hurt by the episode. You know, hockey is the game where once India dominated totally and also won the Olympics title for eight occasions. But we have lost the past glory and it is really very unfortunate for us that we didn't qualify for the recently concluded Beijing Olympics.
Q: Why such things are happening in the Indian hockey? Do you feel we don’t have quality players?

A: No, there is no dearth of talent in our country but we are still far away from proper planning. We failed to qualify for the recently concluded Beijing Olympics for several reasons. We are continuously ignoring to develop our junior players and as long as this type of system would be continued in our country I feel we will see such type of failure in the future also.
Q: Your suggestion in this regard.

A: We have to give equal attention to the junior players and should give them all type of training facilities. Unfortunately Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) failed to do so. Federation should play a vital role in this regard if they really want to bring back the golden day of the Indian hockey.
Q: Few experts feel that proper attention to be given at the time of selecting junior players. Do you feel it so?

A: I agree. Nowadays hockey is played in the astro turf and to play on that surface you need both physical fitness and speed. So during the selection we should keep both the points in our mind and special attention should be given on the speed.
Q: Are you actively involved with coaching nowadays?

A: Earlier, I did coaching regularly but due to different reasons it is not possible for me to continue coaching.
Q: Would you like to involve yourself for the development of hockey in the NE region?

A: I am always ready to do that. You would be glad to know that in the recent past, I had a talked with the officials of the Assam Hockey Association also regarding the development of the hockey in this region. I am always ready to help the game whenever my service would be sought.
Q: You know everything about the incident of Monika Devi. Would you tell us whether this type of incident did occur in Indian sports during your days?

A: It would be little bit difficult for me to give reply as I played the team game and Monika is associated with individual game. In the team game, it is difficult to do this type of injustice with a player.
Q: From a player’s points of view what will be the effect on Monika after the entire episode?

A; There will be a big impact on Monika after the incident. A player has to sacrifice a lot to reach a respectable position. After got selection in the team for a event like Olympics and all of a sudden if you dropped out from the team for a wrong reason then I feel that it is enough to finish a bright career.
Source: The Sentinel

Justice for Monika

SAI official RK Naidu transferred

New Delhi, Sep 18: Less than a week after T S Krishnamurthy submitted his report on the Monika Devi doping saga, a top Sports Authority of India official was today removed from his post at the SAI headquarters here and sent packing to Bhopal.

R K Naidu, who was the SAI Director (Team Division), has been transferred to Bhopal and would be replaced by SS Roy, who is the Director of SAI Northern Centre in Sonepat.

Monika was about to board the Beijing flight before she was charged to have flunked a dope test. After a lot of drama and protest wave, the lifter was cleared by a review committee set up by the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF).

But the reprieve came too late and the Olympic door had been shut on her face by then.Krishnamurthy was less than impressed by the role played by SAI in the entire episode and was particularly annoyed with the inordinate delay between Monika's dope tests and intimation of the results to the lifter.

"There is no doubt that there has been a considerable delay in completing the test of the sample of Monika Devi taken on June 6, 2008 and in communicating the same to the athlete. Had the testing been done within the stipulated time and the result thereof been communicated immediately thereafter, the disappointment and the mental shock the athlete had by the sudden and abrupt communication especially through the media first could have been easily avoided," the former Chief Election Commissioner had observed in his report.

Source: Press Trust of India (PTI)

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Anti-doping guidelines and procedure

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Justice for Monika

Krishnamurthy report blames none

New Delhi, Sep 12: The one-man inquiry committee to probe the Monika Devi controversy on Friday ruled out any malafide intentions by the authorities to bar the Manipuri lifter from Beijing Olympics on dope charges but came down heavily for the delay in communicating the test results to the lifter.
Former Chief Election Commissioner TS Krishnamurthy, who submitted the probe report to the Sports Ministry on Friday, did not find any violation of procedure in the whole testing process but stated the delay in conveying the test results was "unpardonable".
He also said the controversy could have been avoided had there been unity of purpose among the authorities concerned.
"I must state that I did not come across any concrete evidence of any malafides on the part of any individual although it is very clear that there was lack of unity of purpose among all these persons... it had no direct nexus to the issue of dope testing of the athlete," Krishnamurthy said in his 18-page report.
"I am quite clear in my mind that the whole controversy surrounding this episode could have very well been avoided had there been a better management of the procedures," he said in the report, which was prepared after recording the versions of SAI, Ministry, IOA, NDTL and Monika.
The report said Monika was subjected to four sample tests out of which two results -- of the first on June 6 and of the last on July 28 -- were found to have returned with "adverse analytical findings".
After the disclosure of the dope test results, Monika had alleged the Sports Authority of India had "deliberate and malafide" intentions behind preventing her participating in the Beijing Olympics.
Krishnamurthy also suggested to rename SAI to Sports Development and Regulatory Authority for better coordination so that such instances of lapses and delay could be avoided in future.
Krishnamurthy particularly found fault in the delay in conveying the result of the first sample taken on June 6 in Pune and for not communicating the same to the lifter.
"The July 10 report of the first sample (of June 6) mentioned 'suspicious case' and 'report to be submitted'. This was conveyed by SAI to the IWF but there is no indication of it having been communicated to the athlete.
"The same sample was subject to CG-IRMS analysis (for confirmation). This analysis report dated July 25 stated 'there is likelihood of exogenous (synthetic) origin and recommended for follow-up/longitudinal studies'.
"Two other samples dated June 29 and July 15 sent by SAI centre, Bangalore to NDTL found 'No banned substance detected'.
"Another sample taken on July 28... and the report on this on August 5 with the finding 'adverse analytical finding for use of endogenous steroid or its precursors'," it said.
"There is no doubt that there has been a considerable delay in completing the test taken on June 6 and in communicating the same to the athlete. Had the testing been done within the stipulated time and the result thereof been communicated immediately thereafter, the disappointment and the mental shock the athlete had by the sudden and abrupt communication could have been easily avoided," it said.
"Such a delay (in the dope result of first test) is indeed unpardonable as it is not in any case in the spirit of WADA code even assuming that NDTL was not aware that the sample related to a priority case relating to an international competition."

Source: Press Trust of India (PTI)

Full Report

Ministry to take action based on findings

Report rules out mala fide intent

Probe panel flays delays in Monika case

Probe panel advised Monika to test B sample

Monika keeps mum

'Controversy could have been avoided’

Remembering Assam's First Arjuna Awardee

Monika flags off run:

Guwahati, Sep. 3: Manipur weightlifter L. Monika Devi on Wednesday urged people to be alert against any move to deprive players from the region of representing the nation at the international level.
Flagging off the annual Abhiruchi Sports Day mass jogging from Chandmari flyover here to Nehru Stadium, a tearful Monika said she fell “victim to some nasty politics.”
Monika Devi was deprived of a berth in the Indian contingent to the Beijing Olympics last month after allegedly testing positive in a dope test. Though she was subsequently cleared of the allegation, it was too late for her to join the contingent.
Later, an apparently disturbed Monika said she was still undecided about participating in any national meet in the near future.
Manipur’s sports organisations will be boycotting all national events till former Chief Election Commissioner T.S. Krishnamurthy, who is conducting a probe into the issue, submits the report to sports minister M.S. Gill and justice is meted out.
The weightlifter also took part in a felicitation ceremony where 56 heads of educational institutions were honoured for their contribution towards organising this particular sports day for the past 25 years.
The day marks the birthday of Arjuna awardee Bhogeswar Barua.
The mass jogging today was dampened by a morning drizzle, which reduced the turnout to a little over 3,000, including contingents from about 35 schools in the city.
Bhaskar Vidyapith emerged winners in the mass jogging and were trailed by teams from LOG English School and Disneyland High School.
Among the sports establishments, Manchuria Kung-fu Academy finished first, followed by Guwahati Kho-kho Coaching Centre, Lutuma, and Sarusajai Sports Coaching Centre.
Disneyland High School, represented by about 250 students, were awarded the O.P. Nayar Trophy for having the highest number of participants.
The jogging was followed by a dance competition among schoolchildren where St Stephen’s High School team emerged champions while Disneyland High School and Maharishi Vidya Mandir, Kalipur, finished as first and second runners-up respectively. In the aerobics competition, teams from Maharishi Vidya Mandir, Rajgarh, Maharishi Vidya Mandir, Sixth Mile, and T.C. Girls’ H.S. & M.P. School were declared the top three.
Although the day is marked by felicitation of noted sports personalities, this being the silver jubilee year, the main function will be held in December. The felicitation ceremony is likely to be attended by Australian cricketer Steve Waugh or Brett Lee, along with another Asian Olympian.

Source: The Telegraph

Justice for Monika

NE sportspersons neglected: Monika

Guwahati, Sep 3: Weightlifter Monika Devi, who finds herself in a doping controversy, on Wednesday alleged that the Central Government was neglecting budding sportsmen of the northeastern region.

"The Centre had always failed to cater to the sporting needs of the region, that is why northeast was lagging behind," alleged Monika, who missed Beijing Olympics on dope charges.

She was later cleared by a review panel appointed by the Indian Weightlifting Federation. The Sports Ministry also instituted a one-man committee of former Chief Election Commissioner of TS Krishnamurthy to probe into the doping controversy.

The Manipuri lifter was speaking after flagging off the Abhiruchi Sports Day Run in honour of Arjuna awardee from Assam, Bhogeswar Baruah, here.

"It is a conspiracy and it is really unfortunate," she said on her missing the Olympics as she broke down in front of a mammoth crowd of school children who participated in the run.

Monika said she was yet to decide whether or not to participate in national championships. She had last month stated that she would not take part in any national or international event until the officials who "wrongly" accused her of failing the dope test were punished.

Thousands of school children braving intermittent rain participated in the run from Chandmari area of the city to the Nehru stadium.

Source: Press Trust of India

Show of Solidarity

Monika Devi to Lead Abhiruchi Run:

Guwahati, Sept. 1: Manipur weightlifter L. Monika Devi will lead Abhiruchi Sports Day’s silver jubilee run in Guwahati on Wednesday. The organisers of the run invited her to take part as a mark of solidarity with neighbouring Manipur's fight against vested interests that allegedly dashed the ace sportsperson’s Olympics dream last month.
“Today it is Monika Devi from our neighbouring Manipur, tomorrow it could be somebody from Assam. Hence, it is time we joined Manipur’s fightback against vested interests from mainland India which have conspired against the weightlifting prodigy from the Northeast. She is reaching Guwahati on Tuesday to lead the run. We will accord her a warm welcome,” the chairman of the organising committee of the run, Balendra Mohan Chakravarty, said on Monday.
The day is celebrated statewide at over 100 places on September 3 every year to celebrate the birthday of the first Asian Games gold medallist as well as the state’s first Arjuna award winner Bhogeswar Barua.
Monika Devi will lead the run from Chandmari flyover here.
On the day’s programme, Chakravarty said unlike the earlier editions, outstanding sports personalities would not be felicitated on Wednesday but during the main silver jubilee function in December.
This time, the run that will culminate in Nehru Stadium will be followed by a dance and aerobics competition among children from nearly 50 schools in the city.
Besides, the heads of about 70 educational institutions in the city will be felicitated to express gratitude for their service to make the event a success every year.
On the silver jubilee function in December, Chakravarty said an Australian cricketer and an Olympian from any Asian country would be invited as special guests. He hinted that Steve Waugh or Brett Lee would be contacted for their availability.
The main function here will also comprise a two-day seminar on the importance of physical education as a subject in school curriculum and a daylong indigenous sports festival.
Source: The Telegraph

Monika Devi Links (in chronological order):
Monika fails dope test
Monika tests positive, withdrawn from Games
I am innocent, I have been framed: Monika
I am innocent, says Monika
IOA relieved Monica tested positive in India: deputy chef-de-mission
Coach stands by Monika Devi
Kalmadi praises SAI
Monika questions SAI's dope test norms
SAI dope test on Monika illegal: IWF
L Monika case shocks Manipur
CM, MP assure interventions
Conspiracy, cries Manipur
What did Monika test positive for?
Weighlifting Federation boss insists Monika clean
'Monika case attempt to defame Northeast'
Protests in Manipur over Monika Devi's dope report
Ex-weightlifting champ blames IWF for dope taint
Monika to seek ‘B’ sample test
Manipur erupts over Monika exit
24-hr general strike called today to protest Monika exclusion
Northeast footballers appeal for Monika
Boycott threat over Monika
MOA decides to boycott natl championships and Natl Games over Monika issue
Monika cleared, but won't be able to compete in Games
No entry for Monika in Olympics: IOA
SAI clears, but Monika won’t go to Beijing
International weightlifting body says 'no' to Monika
IOA, SAI ruined Monika's career: Ibobi
Monika Devi issue: Manipur CM seeks CBI probe
Monika’s village mourns death of sport
State parties demand resignation of IOA president and Union sports minister
MSF announces boycott of national leaders as protests continue in state
Monika accuses fellow lifters, demands probe
Manipur sends request for CBI probe into Monika episode
Manipur sets apology deadline
Public meeting seeks apology from GOI on Monika issue
Protests over Monika
Big conspiracy to end my career: Monika
Sports minister orders probe in Monika Devi doping case
Advani wants probe into Monika's doping episode
Manipur opts out: Athletics team returns as a mark of protest for Monika
Rousing welcome for Monika, bandh on Aug 19 to stay
Monika puts foot down on competitions
PA Sangma to take up matter with PM
General strike cripples life in state; schools, colleges spared
Battle headed for court- Panel for Monika consults legal experts
Krishna Murthy to submit Monika dope report
NESO demands CBI probe into Monika case
Panel urges PM to book conspirators- Monika places statement
IOA deliberately didn’t allow me to go to Beijing: Monika

Pride of Manipur

Manipuri lifter Monika Devi selected for Beijing Olympics

New Delhi, July 15: Manipuri weightlifter L Monika Devi was today unanimously chosen ahead of Shailaja Pujari to represent the country in the Beijing Olympic Games after a selection trial in Bangalore, bringing to an end a selection controversy and allegations of bribery.

Monika, who won a silver and two bronze in the Asian Championship in Japan in April-May to help book the lone berth for India, will compete in the 69kg category while Shailaja (75kg) would be the reserve lifter.

"Monika was chosen for the Olympics by an unanimous decision of the Selection Committee. I am happy that everything went off smoothly during the trials," Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) President Harbhajan Singh said.

"Dev Dutt Sharma will accompany Monika as coach in Beijing," he added.

Monika and Shailaja were shortlisted for the final selection after an earlier trial in Pune on June 29 was followed by allegations of bribery on IWF General Secreatry B R Gulati to select Shailaja. Gulati had rubbished the allegations as "baseless".

Shailaja was also alleged to have used kneeguards, which were not permitted under IWF rules, in the Pune trial. This led to the Sports Ministry ordering probe into the bribery scandal and asking to cancel the trials besides directing to shift the trial venue from Pune to NIS, Patiala.

IWF stuck to its guns on the repeat selection trials though it shifted the venue of trial to SAI Centre, Bangalore.

Sharma's selection as coach was also against Ministry directive that a woman coach should accompany a woman lifter in Beijing.

Source: Press Trust of India

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Monika gets the nod
IWF selects Monika ahead of Shailaja