Can Sharapova Escape Suspension?

- K.P. Mohan

Did Maria Sharapova make a genuine mistake in consuming a banned drug prescribed by her “family doctor” for her assortment of “health issues”? Or was she trying to enhance performance?

The answer to this will partly provide the clue to what will eventually happen to the highest paid woman athlete of the world.

The doping focus, even as a bribery scandal raged in athletics related to Russian doping, had come briefly onto tennis last year when top male players Roger Federer and Andy Murray called for tougher anti-doping measures in their sport. The stunning admission by the Russian tennis star, Sharapova, has brought the focus right back on tennis at least for the time being.

The fact that the substance she tested positive for, meldonium, was introduced in the Prohibited List by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) only on January 1 this year has helped douse debate about any possible long-term wrong-doing.

Quite significantly, at the time of writing, as many as 99 athletes across sports had tested positive for meldonium in a little over two months, a disturbingly large number that would indicate its widespread misuse plus lack of awareness. It is not unusual for a newly-included substance in the banned list to turn up in large numbers in tests in the first year. The ‘meldonium positive’ cases included the Ethiopia-born Swedish runner Abeba Aregawi, the world 1500m champion in 2013.

Can WADA give a concession because of the large number of positive cases? Unlikely.

The Prohibited List which WADA updates every year contains hundreds of near unpronounce ablegeneric/chemical names of the drugs that normal athletes would find difficult to comprehend. Athletes could be expected to check out with the help of their doctors, support staff or federations about the banned drugs.