Navratilova lashes out against WADA’s appeal in Sinner’s doping case

Czech-American former world No 1 Martina Navratilova has expressed her annoyance over the (WADA) World Anti-Doping Agency’s move to knock on the door of Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), challenging (ITIA) International Tennis Integrity Agency’s ruling in Jannik Sinner’s doping case.

Sinner failed two dope tests during the Indian Wells Open, with his samples showing positive results for Clostebol. The Italian escaped a ban as the ITIA cleared him of any fault but docked his ranking points and prize money from his run to the semi-finals at Indian Wells where he tested positive, accepting the argument that he was exposed to the substance due to his team’s negligence.

WADA, however, recently called on the CAS to intervene in the matter, seeking a ban of 1-2 years on the Italian.

The agency’s action has upset 18-time Grand Slam champion Navratilova. She lashed out at the establishment recalling its handling of the Chinese Olympic swimmers doping fiasco a little while earlier.

“This is nuts. WADA is a mess,” Navratilova wrote on X formerly Twitter. “The Chinese swimmers walk and now this? What a bad system we have.”

The case that Navratilova referenced in her statement concerned allegations of doping against 23 Chinese swimmers before the Tokyo Olympics. The swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine, known to improve blood circulation in the heart, but were cleared by China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA).

Following CHINADA’s verdict, WADA too acquitted the swimmers. This led to an objection from US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), bringing the international body under extreme scrutiny.

In a separate affair, WADA and USADA came face to face more recently before the Paris Olympics, when two more Chinese athletes failed a dope test for metandienone, a muscle-enhancing drug. The involved athletes were again pardoned by CHINADA, citing the contamination came from meat consumption, and WADA aligned itself with the decision.

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