Hungarian top shooters caught in a Narsingh-Sushil like scandal | More sports News

Istvan Peni (in pic) has accused his teammate Peter Sidi of mixing banned substances in his food during ISSF WC in New Delhi. (ANI Photo)

World No. 1 Istvan Peni fails dope test during Delhi World Cup, alleges contamination of medicines by teammate Sidi Peter
PUNE: A senior Olympian has been accused of sabotaging his junior teammate’s Olympic campaign by mixing banned substances in the latter’s food. The junior’s sample tested positive for a banned substance just a few months before the Tokyo Games. This sounds familiar — Sushil Kumar-Narsingh Yadav case — but the shooters are not Indian. The scandal, though, has an Indian connections.
World No. 1 rifle shooter (men’s 50m 3P) Istvan Peni, 24, has accused his Hungarian teammate and former World No. 1 Peter Sidi, 42, of mixing banned substances in his food during their visit to New Delhi for the ISSF World Cup in March.
Peni’s dope test done during the World Cup came positive, but he has accused Sidi of conspiring against him. Following Peni’s allegation the Hungarian Shooting Association suspended Sidi from participating in the European Championships, which began in Osijek, Croatia, from Thursday. However, Peni was allowed to participate in the championships by the International Shooting Sports Federation and Hungarian Shooting. TOI tried to reach the ISSF and the Hungarian federation but failed to get any response.
Prior to the doping scandal, the two shooters had an altercation ahead of the 50m rifle 3 position men’s team gold medal match during the New Delhi World Cup in March. Peni accused Sidi of using an ‘illegal tripod’ during the match and forfeited the match. The weapon control jury, however, found no problem with Sidi’s tripod.
When contacted, Peni told TOI that first he was shocked to learn about him testing positive for a banned substance, but since he was convinced he didn’t take anything deliberately, he started exploring the possibility of a sabotage.
“On April 15, I was informed by the ISSF about my failed dope test in New Delhi. I was told that furosemide was the substance found in my results. I didn’t even know how to spell furosemide. Later, I started to investigate the matter,” Peni told TOI. Furosemide is a type of diuretic which is abused by athletes to excrete water for rapid weight loss and to mask the presence of other banned substances. However, it increases the heart rate of athletes, which is not good for shooters.
“The only new thing that I had started around that time was my Vitamin D capsules. I checked the capsules and found that after I reached home, they had become oily. We later got them checked at the laboratory and found they contained furosemide in them.”
Peni has provided CCTV footage from his hotel in Surajkund, where he and Sidi stayed during the World Cup. Peni has alleged that Sidi entered his room without his permission and stayed there for 45 minutes. The Rio Games participant, Peni, has alleged that the substance was mixed in his medicines.
“The footage shows that the door of our room was locked when we left at 10:19 am and then someone showed up at 10:36 am, entered and stayed there for 45 minutes. And let me be clear, we had not authorized anyone to enter my room,” the World No. 1 said.
However, Sidi denies the charges and said Peni is putting the blame on him to hide his doping offence. “Let me tell you, I have nothing to do with Istvan’s doping offense. There has been no official hearing done in this regard. All this has been done to clear Peni by sacrificing me.
“The Hungary Shooting federation initiated a disciplinary proceeding against me, but the trial could not be held due to the non-availability of a member of the disciplinary committee. I also feel the Disciplinary Committee was set up illegally. To date, I have not had a formal hearing with any official organization. There is a disciplinary hearing scheduled on May 27. Hopefully, they will meet then as the delay is hurting my preparations for the Games,” Sidi, who has missed the European Championships due to the suspension, said.
Sidi already has filed a case against the federation for suspending him during a domestic match. “I got a red card in the Hungarian Championships on March 7 for allegedly using illegal equipment. My equipment has always passed the standards at the international level but not in Hungary, because Peni says it’s not legal,” the five-time Olympian told TOI.
When asked about the CCTV footage, he said: “I haven’t seen the footage yet. Hopefully my lawyer will get it soon.”
The controversy reminds one of a similar incident in Indian sports when wrestler Narsingh Yadav had accused two-time Olympic medallist and his senior, Sushil Kumar, of contaminating his food after the former failed a dope test just days ahead of the Rio Games.