Seema Punia slams ministry and AFI for TOP scheme snub

PATIALA: Seema Antil Punia clinched the discus throw gold at the Federation Cup senior national athletics on Monday to qualify for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. And, moment after her triumph, the Incheon Asian Games gold medallist launched a tirade against the sports ministry for not considering her name for the Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme or the Rs 50,000 monthly allowance to prepare for multi-sport events.
She also complained she has been overlooked for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards despite winning medals for the country.Seema has been ignored by the officials because she allegedly failed a dope test for stimulant ‘pseudoephedrine’ during the World junior athletics championships in 2001 in Santiago de Chile.
It was then reported that Seema had been “warned”, not “banned” but stood disqualified. The reports, citing the IAAF rules, had suggested that there was no suspension for testing positive for stimulants.
Monday’s gold provided Seema the much-needed arsenal to hit back at the ministry and Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for the ‘snub’ meted out to her over the years. She has taken the ‘Right to Information’ route to prove her point. Her only question to both the ministry and federation is – ‘Tell me when was I banned for doping and in which year?’
“I have always been rejected for financial assistance and government awards owing to my alleged doping past. My application for Arjuna was rejected several times. But, I want to know from the authorities when was I banned? There is no evidence. I am already fighting a court case on this issue,” said Seema.
“In 2017, my performance went down because I was recovering from a knee injury. AFI didn’t recommend me for the TOP scheme. The ministry too didn’t include my name in the list of athletes getting monthly allowances. But what about the performance in all those years when I won CWG and Asian Games medals?” she added.
Seema may have a point, but it could be argued that there’s no proof to show her offence in the record books of the National Anti-Doping Agency because the WADA-accredited National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) came into existence in 2008.