THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In an immediate measure to check the rising incidence of doping in the sports arena in the country, the Justice Mukul Mudgal Commission, instituted by the Union Sports Ministry to look into the issue, has mooted photographic display of banned food/protein supplements with brand and generic names, along with campaign in local languages. In an interaction with sportspersons here in the course of a sitting, Justice Mukul Mudgal said that directive for the campaign will be issued without waiting for the filing of the formal recommendations by the commission.He pointed out that even for the so-called natural products, there may be presence of banned products.’’Just because a product is made up of natural ingredients is not enough it is safe,’’ he said. The jurist, who is a former Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court, said that the commission is keen to release the funds earmarked for the sports sector well in time.The meet turned out to be an occasion to discuss the role of sports coaches in the background of rising incidence of doping in the country. ‘’Actually, we do not whether a food supplement recommened by a coach is a prohibited one or not,’’ said Nikhil, a national high jumper. ‘’Even the coaches may not know it,’’ he added.Dileep Singh, physiotherapist of the Kerala Ranji Trophy team, said ‘’It is necessary to create awareness from the school level itself against the doping menace. Pamphlets should be circulated on the banned products from time to time and doctors should should also be provided with this, he said.Annavi, a national high jumper and SAI coach, said that the commission should come out with some standards and parameters for addressing the issue.Santosh Varghese, a SAI coach, felt that if the newly-introduced system of giving cash awards to coaches is withdrawn, doping levels will come down considerably. ‘’Proven coaches may be given promotions if they are employed. Instead of the current trend of sending the whole team for training abroad for training, only coaches should be sent,” he said.‘’Research to identify banned food/protein supplements is not there at present. This has to be addressed,’’ he suggested. Omanakumari, a former Olympian, said that many coaches are not only leading young talents to the world of doping to boost the former’s interests. Vidushpat Singhania, V K Sharma, LNCPE principal G Kishore and others also took part in the discussions.
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