Shot putter Karanveer Singh has failed an out-of-competition dope test conducted recently and he will be pulled out of the Indian team for the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok starting next week.
Karanveer, who trains at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) in Patiala, was earlier named in the 54-member Indian team for the July 12-16 continental championships. The Indian team will leave for Thailand on Saturday night.
"Yes, that is correct," Athletics Federation of India (AFI) president Adille Sumariwalla told PTI on Saturday when asked if Karanveer had failed a dope test.
The exact date of the dope test and name of the banned substance are not known.
Earlier in the day, an Indian team source had said that Karanveer could be left out of the side leaving for Thailand from New Delhi and Bengaluru.
The 25-year-old Karanveer had won a bronze in the Federation Cup in May with a throw of 19.05m, while he was second behind Asian record holder Tajinderpal Singh Toor in the National Inter-State Championships in June with an effort of 19.78m. He is currently sixth among Asians in the season's top list.
He has a personal best of 20.10m, achieved during the National Open Championships last year.
Toor, the defending champion, will now be the lone Indian in the men's shot put event in the Asian Championships.
"He (Toor) has a bright chance of winning a gold medal," chief athletics coach Radhakrishnan Nair said.
At the 2019 edition of the championships in Doha, Toor had won gold with a throw of 20.22m. Since then he has gained in experience and currently is the continent's leading shot putter (21.77m).
"Training has been on expected lines. I'm hopeful to improve my performance in Bangkok," Toor said.
