• Netballer said to be armed with concrete proof 

An Independent Committee attached to the Sri Lanka Anti-Doping Agency (SLADA), will make a decision on the form of punishment to be imposed on former netball captain Semini Alwis, who failed a recent doping test, SLADA Director General Dr. Shiromi Pilapitiya told The Daily Morning Sports.

She said that the Independent Committee’s decision, will also primarily hinge on whether the player concerned will opt for a ‘B’ Sample or not, at the inquiry held to seek the netballer’s explanation for her actions, yesterday.

“The outcome of this inquiry will take its own course, as it is reliant on the stance adopted on it by the athlete concerned,” the SLADA DG elaborated, while the inquiry was proceeding elsewhere. 

Alwis, the former netball skipper is alleged to have used prohibited stimulants (anabolic steroids), following a random test carried out by SLADA last March, during the ongoing pool training of the national netball team.

She said that at the inquiry, the SLADA has no authority to force athletes to go for the ‘B’ Sample.

‘This is the sole prerogative of the athlete,” Dr. Pilapitiya said. “If the athlete concerned is not interested in opting for the ‘B’ Sample, an Independent Committee comprising eminent persons in related fields and affiliated to SLADA, will then decide on, what sort of a ban will be imposed on the player concerned and how long it will last.”

According to the SLADA DG, the time spent by its Independent Committee to decide on the punishment, cannot be confirmed with certainty.

“It can take a few days, weeks or even months. Till it is done, the player who has failed the doping test will continue to be provisionally suspended from that particular sport,” she added.

According to Dr. Pilapitiya, depending on the punishment that is handed down by the Independent Committee of SLADA, if the player concerned is not satisfied with the ruling, he or she could go before the Court of Arbitration and seek redress. 

Meanwhile, The Daily Morning Sports reliably learns that Semini Alwis, has planned to reveal with proof at her inquiry, that she had failed her doping test following a medication taken by her for an illness. 

It has been reported that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), had officially informed the former captain and SLADA, that her initial urine samples had contained prohibited stimulants following a test done on 21 March.

It is also the first time ever from Sri Lanka that a netballer had failed a doping test carried out by the SLADA and WADA respectively.

Semini Alwis is also a senior member of the national netball team, having represented her country at two Netball World Cups in 2015 and 2019, while having led the national team at the Sydney World Cup nine years ago.