New Delhi, Jun 22 (PTI) Indian long distance runner Sanjeevani Jadhav has been placed under provisional suspension for failing a dope test last year.

Sanjeevani had failed a dope test in November last year as her sample taken during the National Inter-State Athletics Championships was found to contain Probenecid, a masking agent.

Her sample initially returned negative when tested at the National Dope Testing Laboratory here but later found to contain the prohibited substance when tested at World Anti-Doping Agency's Montreal laboratory.

The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) did not hand her a provisional suspension as it was not required at that stage. She was allowed to compete and she won the 10,000m race in the Federation Cup earlier this year.

She was selected in the Indian team for the Asian Championships held in April in Doha after clearance by the NADA, and she won a bronze by clocking 32:44.96.

The Athletics Integrity Unit, an independent body set up by the international athletics federation to deal with these kind of cases, has issued charges on the 22-year-old Sanjeevani on Wednesday and she has been placed under provisional suspension.

An Athletics Federation of India official said: "When she failed dope test last year, she was asked to take voluntary suspension and fight her case. But she did not do that and said she is innocent."

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)