He also pledged to dismantle and clean the nexus back home which conspired against Narsingh Yadav.
“This is very humiliating,” fumes Singh and said he will not rest till he exposes the “nexus back home which orchestrated this whole conspiracy and controversy.”
“This should not happen to any sportsperson in future. I demand a CBI probe into this issue so that this episode is not repeated in future. We feel sorry for Narsingh. This should not happen to any athlete.”
“From day one, when it was decided that Narsingh will represent the country in Rio, attempts were made not to let this promising youngster to be part of the team.
“WFI stood by him then and also stands by him now,” Singh said and added that he was hurt that “some vested interests stooped so low even to hurt the interest of the nation just to see that Narsingh is not seen in action in the Games.”
The WFI chief asserted that Narsingh Yadav was “our best in the Games. He had the potential to win the medal here. He had qualified on his own. He had no Godfather, no lobby. He was the first sportsperson from India to qualify for Olympics.”
“The whole issue leading to four-year ban reeks of conspiracy. We and the IOA were informed very late that WADA has moved the CAS against the acquittal of Narsingh Yadav by NADA.
“It happened so suddenly that we were left with no time to have our Lawyers here. Though CAS held the video conference with the lawyer but that is not like having the lawyer(s) present personally to argue the case.
“What has dismayed me is the role some of our own people played. They even prodded the WADA to move fast against Narsingh. They were not bothered about the national intrest. They had only one point agenda to destroy the career of Narsingh Yadav.
Meanwhile, ‘beleaguered’ Narsingh Yadav said that he will do everything to prove his innocence.
“To say I am devastated at the decision of CAS would be putting it mildly. I have gone through so much over the last two months off the mat but the thought of fighting for the glory of the nation at the Games had kept me going. My dream of competing and winning the country a medal at the Rio Olympics has been cruelly snatched away from me twelve hours before my first bout.
“But I will do everything it takes to prove my innocence. It is all I have left to fight for,” he said in a statement issued by his sponsors JSW Sports.
”We will be pressing for a review of the decision that WADA would be amenable to if further evidence is found pertaining to sabotage,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, collaborating WFI views, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has said that Narsingh Yadav has been “defeated by compatriots” rather than opponents.
“It’s not a just loss for Narsingh at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) but he was beaten by his compatriots who did not want to let him compete at the Olympics and not by his opponents,” IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta said.