Jani vows to prove her innocence

Dinesh Weerawansa

DOPING: Controversial woman sprinter Jani Chathurangani Silva requested an additional day to submit explanations when she came before a special local arbitration panel yesterday.

However, in a brief statement to mediamen, Silva pleaded not guilty for the offence and has vowed to prove her innocence.

The hearing took place at the National Sports Medicine Institute in Colombo 7 last morning. Appearing before the panel, headed by the Director General of Sri Lanka Sports Medicine Dr. Geethanjana Mendis, with two lawyers, Silva requested an additional day to submit her explanations.

A member of the arbitration panel said that they considered the mental situation of the sprinter in granting an additional day. Accordingly, Silva will once again come before the local arbitration panel at 9.30 a.m. today.

The local arbitration panel included Dr. Geethanjana Mendis, Dr. Dudley Perera, Dr. Seewali Jayawickrema, Dr. Shiromi Pilapitiya, Sri Lanka team's chef de mission Sunil Jayaweera and Elmo Perera, representing the NOC.

Silva, whose 'A' urine sample taken at the 10th South Asian Games was tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, came before a special panel of the Athletic Association of Sri Lanka (AASL) on Monday but did not utter a word.

However, for the first time since the doping scandal came to light last Friday, Silva broke her silence yesterday when she briefly spoke to media men after the hearing at the Sports Medicine Unit. "I will prove my innocence at the hearing," she said in a brief interview yesterday.

Silva has already been ruled out from December's 15th Asian Games in Doha. The AASL has banned Silva from taking part in any local or international competition until the current controversy ends. Accordingly Silva will not be able to run at this weekend's National Sports Festival, which will be the final trial to pick the Sri Lanka team for the Doha Asian Games.

Based on the explanations to be given by the sprinter and the findings, the arbitration panel will submit its report to the Disciplinary Committee (DC). It will be the DC of the AASL that would communicate with the WADA, the world anti doping body.

Silva is likely to indicate today whether she is going for a 'B' urine sample testing. If the second sample tests negative, she would be exonerated. But if she is proved guilty, Silva would lose both the women's 4 x 100m relay gold medal and 100m silver medal she won at last month's South Asian Games.