Vinesh Phogat pulls out of the Ranking Series competition due to “food poisoning”

Vinesh Phogat, a two-time medallist at the World Championships, is said to have withdrawn from the Ranking Series competition in Budapest late on Friday night due to a fever and stomach sickness.

Vinesh withdrew from the Ranking Series competition late on Friday night, claiming illness and food sickness, according to the Indian Express, with her matches in the 55kg weight class planned for Saturday. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the organisers were informed of the decision.

Vinesh received a notification from the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) earlier this week for failing to abide by the whereabouts rules.

When a doping control officer (DCO) went to the address in Sonipat’s Partap Colony on June 27, Vinesh was not there and could not be contacted by phone. According to a report, the DCO phoned her husband Somvir Rathee and tried to reach her for more than 40 minutes without success.

Ankush Gupta, the project officer for NADA, has asked Vinesh for a statement about her failure to follow the ADR’s whereabouts criteria.

In order to react to this notification, Vinesh has 14 days. Vinesh, however, should not panic since this is the first time in a year that she has had a whereabouts failure, according to the article.

An athlete who has registered with NADA’s Registered Testing Pool must report their whereabouts on a quarterly basis. This information must include their home address, email address, phone number, address for overnight lodging, competition schedules and locations, and a 60-minute window for each day during which they will be accessible for testing and responsible for any potential “missed tests.”

According to NADA Anti Doping Rules – Article 2.4, any combination of three Whereabouts Failures (filing failures and/or missing tests) during a 12-month period constitutes an Anti-Doping Rule Violation and may result in the imposition of a sentence for up to 4 years.

Notably, IANS broke the news of this warning last week when renowned wrestling coach Ajit Singh recommended that NADA keep a watch on Vinesh and Bajarang while questioning their overseas training experience.

Former SAI coach Singh advised NADA to keep a watch on Vinesh and Bajrang Punia in an interview with IANS after the pair were given the all-clear by the Sports Ministry to train overseas in preparation for the Asian Games and the world championships.