Narsingh Yadav was exonerated of doping charges on Monday after an Indian anti-doping disciplinary panel (NADA) ruled that there was no fault or negligence on the part of the wrestler and he was a victim of "sabotage".
Yadav, who secured India a berth at the Rio Games in the 74kg category by winning a bronze medal at last year's world championships in Las Vegas, tested positive for a banned steroid last month but now waits to hear whether he has been granted an Olympics lifeline.
A visibly happy Yadav said he is looking forward to 'win' Olympics medal for his nation. He also thanked PM Modi for his support.
These were really trying times for me, I am now very happy. PM also supported me a lot: Narsingh Yadav pic.twitter.com/KDHI5UFmzx
— ANI (@ANI_news) August 1, 2016
Twitter was elated after this news broke out, with many of his colleagues and prominent personalities wishing him well for Rio Olympics, which starts from August 19.
बहुत ख़ुशी की बात है l मेरा सपोर्ट पहले भी था आज भी है और कल भी रहेगा l go win for me and the country #NarsinghYadav
— Sushil Kumar (@WrestlerSushil) August 1, 2016
#सत्य परेशान हो सकता है पराजित नही।#NADA से पहलवान नरसिंह यादव को मिली क्लीन चिट, जय हिंद #NarsinghYadav
— Yogeshwar Dutt (@DuttYogi) August 1, 2016
Great news!
Congratulations to #NarsinghYadav for getting a clean chit from NADA to participate in the #RioOlympicsAll the best Narsingh!— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) August 1, 2016
Narsingh Yadav exonerated of doping charges. Now, go for gold. #Rio2016
— Abhijit Majumder (@abhijitmajumder) August 1, 2016
NADA clears Narsingh Yadav.Sadly,he was made to wrestle with authorities to prove his bona fides.Hope to see him keep the Indian flag flying
— Randeep S Surjewala (@rssurjewala) August 1, 2016
Woohoo!! Justice!! Now make us proud in Rio #NarsinghYadav 👊🏼 https://t.co/rpZaI745Ty
— SOPHIE CHOUDRY (@Sophie_Choudry) August 1, 2016
Some even thought of this exoneration as a potential Bollywood script...
Happy for Narsingh. Now imagine the pressure on the wrestler once he gets to Rio. This script seems to be written by Bollywood scriptwriter.
— Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) August 1, 2016
If life were a movie, Narsingh would win gold in Rio!
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) August 1, 2016
While this is good news, Narisingh will have to go through another test before WADA clears him.
So #NarsinghYadav has just cleared a hurdle. There should be another test done on him before his competition. Only then WADA can let him in
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) August 1, 2016
Don't know how media is saying Narsing Yadav will go to Rio. That decision can't be made by NADA.
— Sumanth Raman (@sumanthraman) August 1, 2016
If NADA chief says Narsing has been ''a victim of sabotage'', I cant see WADA not in agreement. Rio beckons Narsing
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) August 1, 2016
Following the positive test, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) had provisionally sent the name of Parveen Rana as his replacement to the United World Wrestling (UWW) but said it would now approach the governing body to allow Yadav to compete at the Olympics.
"We will write to both WADA and the UWW to allow Narsingh Yadav to compete at the Rio Games," Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh told reporters.
"I am sure Narsingh Yadav will go to Rio and win a medal for India."
Men's freestyle wrestling starts in Rio from Aug. 19, which the WFI said gives ample time for the wrestler to be reinstated.
(With inputs from Reuters)
(Feature image source: Twitter)