Narsingh Yadav Row: National Anti-Doping Agency Decision on Wrestler on Hold

Wrestler Narsingh Yadav's fate over competing in the 2016 Rio Olympics is still unknown as the final decision by National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) was deferred and will be announced on Saturday or Monday after a two-day hearing ended in New Delhi on Thursday evening.

A day after the 74 kg freestyle wrestler and his lawyers presented their case on the failed dope tests, which according to them, was a conspiracy against the grappler, NADA's legal team gave its arguments against the sabotage theory before a disciplinary committee.

"Hearing has been concluded today. The judgement will come out either on Saturday or Monday," NADA's lawyer Gaurang Kanth said at the end of the hearing.

"The argument by NADA was that he is not eligible for remission which he has been asking. Narsingh did not produce the relevant circumstantial evidence that there could have been sabotage as had been claimed by them.

"They filed an affidavit that his drinks or water was spiked but they did not produce the evidence to prove it to satisfy NADA and WADA," he added.

The 26-year-old wrestler had failed dope tests twice, conducted on June 25 and July 5. He had tested positive for banned anabolic steroid methandienone.

Wednesday's hearing lasted three and half hours where Narsingh and his lawyers presented their case in front of the NADA committee.

The wrestler had alleged that he has been framed in the doping scandal by rivals, who spiked his food and supplements to stop him from going to Rio. However, his supplements were found to be clean.

Narsingh had also filed an FIR at the Sonepat Police Station naming two fellow wrestlers, one of them a 17-year-old, and persisted with his demand for a CBI probe into the scandal that has sent shockwaves into the Indian sporting fraternity.

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) also continued to back Narsingh but later announced that Parveen Rana would replace him in the squad for Olympics, a move that was approved by the sport's world governing body -- United World Wrestling.

However, the Varanasi-born wrestler will be reinstated if he gets a favourable verdict from NADA.

NADA's lawyer, however, on Thursday said that Narsingh's claims of conspiracy are not backed by sufficient proof.

"We argued that the requirements of due diligence and care which was needed to escape from punishment was not provided as to satisfy the WADA Code. So we said he should be given punishment as appropriate this panel thinks fit," Kanth said.

"We also opposed his contention that he was not negligent and had not committed mistake in not taking due care as an athlete. We said as an international athlete he should have taken due care about his food and drinks. But from what he had produced before the panel there was nothing to prove due care on his part.

"So under WADA Code if he fails to prove due care and diligence he should not be given remission and should be punished. The arguments are over let us see what the panel decides."

On a second successive day of chaos at the NADA headquarters, Narsingh's supporters shouted slogans demanding justice for him.

Narsingh had been picked ahead of two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar after he won the quota place with a bronze medal in the World Championships.

(With PTI inputs)