Two Indians sent home over Commonwealth ‘no-needles’ policy

Two Indian athletes have been sent home from the Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast over an alleged breach of the ‘no-needles’ policy.

A needle was found in the apartment of race walker Irfan Kolothum Thodi and triple jumper Rakesh Babu.

A second was discovered in Babu’s bag.

Though he denies knowledge of the needles, the jumper’s exclusion will not be appealed by India. However, the country’s athletics manager, Ravinder Chaudhry, is unsure why Thodi should also be sent home: "There is confusion. Our protest is why they banned Irfan.

"Why have they banned two of our athletes? This is a big question, how they confirmed this syringe belongs to both. It was found in the bag of Mr Babu."