SYDNEY, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Two Indian athletes have been banned and kicked out of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games athletes' village on Friday after needles were found in their bedroom.
"Rakesh Babu and Irfan Kolothum Thodi are in breach of the No Needle Policy, the accreditation of Rakesh Babu and Irfan Kolothum Thodi was suspended with effect from 09:00 hours on April 13, 2018," Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Louise Martin said.
"We have asked the Commonwealth Games Association of India to ensure both athletes depart Australia on the first flight available," Martin added.
According to Martin, a cleaning operations manager discovered the needle in a cup assigned to India triple jumper Rakesh Badu and race walker Irfan Thodi.
An Australia Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) investigator also found a syringe in the bag of Rakesh Babu later.
Although both athletes denied any knowledge of the needles, Martin said the CGF court found denials by the athletes were "unreliable and evasive."
Babu was due to compete in Saturday's triple jump final while Thodi finished 13th in last Sunday's 20 kilometre race walk.
Chef de Mission of the Commonwealth Games Association of India Vikram Singh Sisodia, along with general team manager Namdev Shirgaonker and athletics team manager Ravinder Chaudhry, were all found to be in breach of the No Needle Policy and have been issued a reprimand.
Martin said the trio failed to ensure compliance with the policy and warned that any further infractions by any member of the Indian team could result in losing their accreditation.
Under games rules, only medical practitioners and athletes requiring auto-injection therapy for an established medical condition such as insulin dependent diabetes can use needles.
