Australian wrestler Vinod Kumar set to be kicked off Rio Olympics team after doping violation

WRESTLER Vinod Kumar had been lauded as a tale of persistence, surviving an attack on his life to qualify for Rio. But on Friday he was revealed as a drug cheat and banned for four years.

Vinod Kumar looks set to be kicked off the Rio team

WRESTLER Vinod Kumar had been lauded as a tale of ultimate persistence, surviving an attack on his life in native India to qualify for Rio.

To follow his dream the naturalised Australian raised money by crowd-funding and delivering newspapers to qualify for Rio’s Greco-Roman wrestling competition.

On Friday Melbourne-based Kumar was revealed as a drug cheat who has been banned for four years, with Australia to lose that Rio Olympics berth.

His nomination has been withdrawn after his A and B samples tested positive at the Olympic qualifiers in Alger, Algeria.

The Herald Sun understands he tested positive to the banned stimulant methylhexanamine and the anabolic agent ostarine.

AOC president John Coates spoke in May of ASADA conducting the most rigorous anti-doping program in Olympic history for our Rio athletes.

But 31-year-old Kumar, who also fights in the MMA arena, took a risk that dashed the chance of Olympic heroics he worked 16 years to achieve.

Vinod Kumar‘s Olympic dream has been shattered, and Australia’s place in the 66kg division gone.

Kumar had spoken of his remarkable journey to the Olympics in May, including an incident in 2000 where he nearly died.

The wrestler from a family of humble farmers was thrown off a moving train by an opponent he had beaten in a tournament.

He sustained horrific injuries including fractures to his knee, arms and skull.

He recovered and travelled to Australia in 2009 for the Australia Cup then stayed, selling a valuable pistol he used as a bouncer in India to raise funds to relocate.

In Australia he became a “newspaper hawker” and then a courier while rising up the ranks, naturalised in 2015 and qualifying for the Olympics this year.

Kumar had raised $797 of his $22,000 crowd-funding goal to help his training costs.

Australia now does not have a qualifier in the 66kg division, with that spot passed to the next best-ranked nation.

Ostarine helps with the boosting of muscle mass and the recovery from injuries to joints and bones, giving users the same benefits of anabolic steroids.

Methylhexanamine has diuretic affects, with a long list of athletes banned after it was detected in their blood.

It was banned in Australia in 2012, with NSW authorities labelling it a “highly dangerous substance” on the poisons list

The AOC has asked Wrestling Australia to withdraw the nomination of athlete Vinod Kumar for Rio 2016.https://t.co/tv6eCsg3fG

— AUS Olympic Team (@AUSOlympicTeam) July 15, 2016

Australian chef de mission Kitty Chiller said early this year any athlete tempted by drugs would be caught.

“Dont. They would be idiots. We will continue to have absolutely zero tolerance. We have educated athletes and ASADA testing has never been more comprehensive,’’ she said.

“It is never, never worth it. You will forever be branded. It is a hollow victory if you do get anything from it and as we are seeing now, you will be caught.

“With the publicity Essendon and Cronulla have had, if that doesn’t hit home to athletes everywhere, then boy, I don’t know what would.

“It has been the ultimate reminder for all athletes that you cannot blame anyone else. There is absolutely no excuse now, more so now (under the new code) than four years ago. It is an athlete’s responsibility about what they are injected with or goes into their mouth.”

Originally published as Australian wrestler Vinod Kumar set to be kicked off Rio Olympics team after doping violation