Kundapur: Doping Controversy Leaves Parents of Ashwini Worried
Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (SP)
Kundapur, Jul 6: Akkunji near Siddapur in the taluk had made headlines after Ashwini Chidanand Shetty from the village registered excellent performances in Commonwealth and Asian Games. However, this time, the name of this village has again emerged in the forefront, sadly because of the controversy created by the reported drug abuse by athletes.
The parents and relatives of Ashwini are distraught as they firmly believe that Ashwini, a determined and hard working girl, can never opt to own dubious ways to boost her performance. Her father, Chidanand Shetty, finds it hard to digest this fact and respond to queries coming his way relating to the latest controversy.
Shetty asserts that his daughter is innocent, and that her rich talent makes sure that she does not need to resort to unnatural ways to boost her on field performance. He feels that innocent athletes are becoming scapegoats because of lack of coordination between athletic federations and officials, indigenous and foreign coaches, and sports medicine specialists. “My daughter even refuses to take pills for petty ailments. How can I believe that she had consumed drugs?” he questions.
The families of the athletes, whose names have been sullied because of latest reports, are a worried lot. Various titles, awards, and jobs were bagged by these athletes, including Ashwini, on the basis of their performances. Now that question marks have been raised on their past records, the close relatives of these athletes are aware now that all of these can be in jeopardy. The parents of Ashwini have told their daughter not to lose heart, and march ahead with courage and determination.
Ashwini’s mother said that her daughter has always been very careful in choosing her food because of drug concerns. She feels that Ashwini would have mistakenly consumed some wrong food, or the findings could be the after-affects of consumption of food rich in vitamins.
Chidanand Shetty and his wife, at the same time, have welcomed the decision of the government to terminate the services of the Ukrainian coach. They have been praying to the divine powers to ensure that Ashwini’s Olympics dreams are not shattered, and her future will not get adversely affected, because of the doping controversy.