Six 400 m runners suspended for one year

Asian Games 400m hurdles gold medallist A.C. Ashwini and five other woman 400m runners were on Friday suspended for one year for anti-doping rule violations by the National Anti-Doping Disciplinary panel headed by Dinesh Dayal.

The suspensions, the first of its kind in the country on such a celebrated batch of athletes, three of whom were part of the gold medal-winning relay teams in the last Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, have more or less ruined their chances of figuring in the London Olympics next year.

Apart from Ashwini, the two others who formed part of the victorious relay teams are Mandeep Kaur and Sini Jose. Jauna Murm, Priyanka Panwar and Tiana Mary Thomas are the other suspended athletes.