More Sports Athletics Athletics 93 overaged athletes stopped from competing at junior Nationals Many of the disqualified athletes belonged to Haryana and Rajasthan, an Athletics Federation of India official says. Stan Rayan KOCHI 02 November, 2019 21:50 IST Special cards with unique ID numbers will be issued to all athletes to avoid the age-verification process at every meet. (Representative Image) - Getty Images Stan Rayan KOCHI 02 November, 2019 21:50 IST Over 90 athletes were stopped from competing in the 35th National junior athletics championships after failing age-verification tests.“Many of them are from Haryana, UP and Rajasthan,” Nitin Arya, the Athletics Federation of India’s Manager-Competitions told Sportstar while confirming the number as 93.The age-fudging issue had troubled the sport for long and 41 athletes, including star sprinter Nisar Ahmed, were found overage and disqualified from the Youth Nationals in Raipur early this year.Three others were disqualified at the junior Nationals in Guntur for violating the federation’s no-needle policy on the opening day of the five-day meet and the entries of nearly 200 athletes were rejected as their age-proof certificates were not in order.“Officials are keeping a close watch and the three athletes were caught with syringes,” said the official.The AFI also started the process of biometric registration of athletes at Guntur to tackle the age-fraud issue.Special cards with unique ID numbers will be issued to all athletes to avoid the age-verification process at every meet. Support Sportstar Dear Reader, Support our journalism — where text and pictures intermingle so seamlessly — and help us scale up your experience as the world changes around us. Your contribution is vital to our brand of uninfluenced, boots-on-the-ground reportage that’s worth your while. Clickbait sensationalism is not for us, but editorial independence is — we owe it to you. Support Quality Journalism Subscribe to our daily newsletter Get your daily dose of Sportstar with handpicked stories delivered right to your inbox! SUBSCRIBE Please enter a valid email address.
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