New Delhi:
Repeat offenders Shailaja Pujari and Vicky Butta were slapped with life bans, while four others were barred for four years as the International Weightlifting Federation cracked the whip on Indian dope cheats.
Pujari, a 75kg gold medallist from the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games, had been earlier caught in the doping net in 2006 and had to be dropped from the Indian team.
This time, she flunked the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) tests conducted last September.
Batta, a 56kg silver winner in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, had previously failed a drug test during the 2007 National Games.
"Both of them have been banned for life for failing dope tests last year," confirmed a source in the Weightlifting Federation of India (WFI).
The IWF has also imposed a fine of USD 5000 each on the duo.