British wrestler Chinu Sandhu banned for four years
Press Release
22 March 2017
Chinu Sandhu, a 29-year-old British freestyle wrestler and 2014 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, has been suspended from all sport for four years following an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV).
Sandhu, also known as Chinu Chinu or Chinu Xxx, tested positive for a metabolite of stanozolol, an exogenous anabolic androgenic steroid, following an out-of-competition test on 20 September 2016.
Following the test, the wrestler was subsequently charged with an ADRV pursuant to article 2.1 of the World Anti-Doping Code – “Presence of a Prohibited Substance or its Metabolites or Markers in an Athlete’s Sample”.
Sandhu contested the charge on the grounds that he had not acted intentionally and that the positive sample had resulted from ingesting a contaminated supplement. An independent National Anti-Doping Panel upheld the charge, based on the lack of evidence presented, and a four-year period of ineligibility was imposed.
UKAD Chief Executive, Nicole Sapstead said: “Chinu Sandhu was one of this country’s leading freestyle wrestlers having won a bronze medal at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and represented Great Britain at the European Games in Baku in 2015. It is sad that his reputation within the sport has been tainted because of his own actions.
“Athletes are solely responsible for any substance which is found in their system, regardless of whether there is an intention to cheat or not. No one can ever guarantee that a supplement is free from prohibited substances and taking them will always carry an element of risk.
“Our advice is clear – before taking any supplement, athletes must assess the need. It is then imperative that they assess the risk of use by carrying out thorough research through websites such as informed-sport.com. Finally, athletes must fully understand the consequences of taking supplements and decide whether a potential four-year ban from sport is worth it.”
Sandhu is banned from all sport from 14 October 2016 until midnight on 13 October 2020.
The full written decision can be found on the CleanSport Blog.
