India pulled a Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, no it was Turkey I was thinking of!
A total of 21 Indian weightlifters test positive in “different domestic meets as well as out-of-competition tests this year.” (via, and here)
Over the last ten years or so the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has suspended the Indian Weightlifting Federation twice and even had let off the Indian body with a hefty fine in 2009.
On a positive note: The Indian federation now has 10 new spotter pairs available.
Update 18.04.2015:
The 3 Indian Federations who had most lifters from the bust (Punjab, Haryana and Delhi) get a one year ban by the Indian Weightlifting Federation.
Each state has to pay $50.000 US fine.
Yesterday I posted on the All Things Gym Facebook page that the verdicts for the Albanian doping cases from worlds are in.
Daniel Godelli and Romela Begaj get a 2 year, while Hysen Pulaku gets an 8 year suspension. (via)
Update: 12/4/2015
An interview has emerged with Godelli and Pulaku on a program called Sport Magazine. From this report it looks like a reiteration of what Godelli posted in his Facebook comment. If you understand Albanian, translations in the comments are appreciated.
Update: They will appeal in the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport).
From reader Sporting:
In the latest post on Daniel Godelli’s facebook he says Leonidas Sampanis (formerly Luan Shabani in Albania) who they trained with this summer gave them the stanozolol on purpose to get them banned and eliminate qualifying points from Albania so that the Greek team can get spots from 2016.
It’s an interesting theory but based on how public ally he calls him out and the circumstances around it ( he invited them said he would train them gave them supplements which turned out to be doing ) for no benefit to him it makes sense.
India seems to constantly get drug bans for mostly low level athletes and they also don’t seem to care in the slightest
Lol @ Godelli being framed.
Can we just make steroids legal already?
Thru are legal in India and you see what happened.
>on purpose to get them banned and eliminate qualifying points from Albania so that the Greek team can get spots from 2016
That’s nonsensical since it’s not how the qualification system works. Greece can’t “steal” quotas from Albania and Godelli or at least his coaches know that. Greece is in no man’s land currently at 34th/44th place. Unless he thinks they can get lifters from 10+ other countries banned as well.
Albania and Greece weren’t rivals in the current rankings (far too far apart) and based on projections they also wouldn’t be competitors in the 2016 EWC continental qualifier since Albania wouldn’t even be eligible.
By the way, Bulgaria is ranked 11th/28th in Rio quotas. All these “China/Russia wanted to get rid of them” conspiracies are equally stupid.
“weren’t rivals in the current rankings” – they are however rivals in politics, so this lame excuse got (at least in facebook) a strong nationalistic response from Albania, which I guess was Godelli’s goal. The Bulgarian lifters were also coming with ridiculous excuses (just check Boevski’s book, it is a 160 page volume of him white washing himself) and their reputation was clean in front of the public.
It is not just Olympics that is important but we have world Sr. and Jr. championships, European Sr. 23, jr, and Mediterranean Games. It is a known fact that many Greek greats in 1990’s came from neighboring countries. It is possible IMO many Albanian lifters move to Greece for better wages and opportunities to compete.
” eliminate qualifying points from Albania so that the Greek team can get spots from 2016″
I thought a second positive would result in a lifetime ban for Pulaku?
Edit: Now I know this pretty much ends his professional career being sidelined for eight years, but still?
It’s the reduced suspension time for a second offense if the lifter can prove “No [Significant] Fault or Negligence” for his violation.
http://www.iwf.net/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2015/04/001_105_Antidoping-imprim.pdf
The same for Godelli and Begaj since regular first time offenses are four years, not two. My guess is the Greek training was officially part of the defense and got accepted as mitigating.
Ahh, cool – thanks!
I hope so, he is a proven cheater.
Spotter pair video!!! I need one where the lifter fails (preferably on a jerk) so I can see what they do LOL
Indian squats: http://www.liveleak.com/ll_embed?f=bd6b41971375
Ouch. WLing is more and more a sport of attrition.
“On a POSITIVE note…” Ha, ha, ha, good one, Gregor.