The four-year bans on track and field athletes Pooja Rani, Kiran, Pankaj and Chelimi Pratyusha for evading dope tests has been reduced by one year after they accepted their offence within 20 days of being charged.
The quartet was among several athletes who were suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) earlier this year under Article 2.3 of the anti-doping rules, which deals with “evading, refusing or failing to submit to sample collection by an athlete” without compelling justification.
The maximum ban period for a first offence is four years, but Article 10.8 of the NADA Rules provides for “results management agreements” under which athletes can get reduced punishment based on early admission and acceptance of sanction.
Article 10.8.1 allows athletes charged with a four-year ban to benefit from a one-year reduction if they admit the violation and accept the penalty within 20 days of being charged.
Article 10.8.2 provides an opportunity for the athlete to enter into a Case Resolution Agreement with NADA and WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) in which the applicable period of ineligibility can be agreed upon based on the facts of the case.
Pooja Rani’s three-year ban period has already begun from August 13, 2024, the same as that of Kiran and Pankaj. Chelimi Pratyusha’s three-year ban period, however, began from February 6 this year.
Pooja, Kiran, Pankaj and Chelimi were also included in Monaco-based Athletics Integrity Unit’s (AIU) list of athletes sanctioned for doping and non-doping violations for the month of June.
AIU is the independent anti-doping watchdog established by World Athletics, the international governing body of the sport.
AI-assisted summaryChicago Cubs prospect Owen Caissie is the organization’s top-ranked prospect due to his impressive power.Caissie’s dedication to training and hard work from a young age has contributed to his success.The 22-year-old’s power has drawn attention and trade rumors, but he remains focused on his game.A 17-year-old Owen Caissie dug into the batter’s box for the Canadian Junior National team late in an exhibition game against the Toronto Blue Jays at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Fla., on March 12, 2020, with a big opportunity. Caissie, who was hitless on the day, jumped on an early offering from veteran minor league pitcher Connor Overton and crushed it.
The success only made Caissie work harder. He spent most of his days training at the facility. After school, he’d ride his bike over and hit for a few hours. Caissie then got a break when his parents picked him up for dinner. Later in the evening, he returned for practice for several more hours with the Pirates.Even after those practices ended, Caissie stuck around, sometimes staying as late as midnight to get as many extra swings in as he could. He stayed so late that he sometimes locked the facility for the night. That became the norm throughout high school.”I didn’t party,” Caissie said. “I didn’t go to a single high school party. I was just in the cage all the time with a bunch of buddies and that’s all we did, really. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”Caissie’s relentless work ethic paid off. By the time he turned 16, he was popping on the radar of college coaches. The Burlington, Ontario, native traveled to the United States with his teammates from the Pirates to compete in Prep Baseball Report tournaments.During a dominating performance at one of the tournaments, Caissie earned a scholarship offer from Kentucky. Caissie committed, but it didn’t last. As he got older, his swing got better and his body got bigger. He grew into his frame, shot up several inches and added 25 pounds one season.The power hitter put his talents on display during the Tournament 12 showcase at Toronto’s Rogers Centre in 2019. Caissie won the event, hitting balls into the second deck of the Blue Jays’ stadium, Hamilton said.When Caissie reopened his recruitment, some of the top college programs from across the United States started reaching out to him. He eventually committed to Michigan, but Caissie’s stock continued to soar throughout high school. The peak may have come during the exhibition game against the Blue Jays.He was hitless early in the game. Then he belted the home run against Overton, a long-time minor-league pitcher who eventually went on to pitch in the big leagues. Hamilton believes Caissie showed the ability to not only hit pro pitching, but do it at a high level with a wood bat. He believes that it likely helped Caissie’s draft stock.Caissie agrees.”I think it really helped my career,” Caissie said. “Jumpstart it for sure.”The Padres selected Caissie in the second round of the MLB Draft three months later. But the hard work Caissie was putting in didn’t stop after making it to professional baseball.
Caissie gets traded and continues to deal with trade talkCaissie was back in Canada training at the Fieldhouse Pirates facility in December of 2020 when his phone rang. It was his agent letting him know he may be traded. Caissie took a few minutes to digest the information. Then he did what he usually does. He went back to work.”I just got drafted, so I didn’t really have any real connections to the Padres,” Caissie said. “I hadn’t really established a super deep connection with them. So, it was kind of crazy.”Caissie was part of a deal that sent Zach Davies, Reginald Preciado, Yeison Santana and Ismael Mena to the Cubs for star Yu Darvish and Victor Caratini. The Cubs quickly got a look at the power that Caissie had. During his first season of professional baseball, he hit .302 with 11 doubles and seven homers in 52 games across two levels.The following season, Caissie helped High-A South Bend to a championship. During one game, he smashed a home run that went out of the stadium and over a workout barn. The ball bounced past two buses in the parking lot and was brought back to the dugout, where it was given to Caissie’s dad.”He absolutely crushed it,” Jason Caissie said.That was just a sign of things to come for Caissie, who hit .289 with a .917 OPS and 22 homers for Double-A Tennessee in 2023. He made his Triple-A debut in 2024 and became one of the best hitters in the Cubs organization, hitting .278 with 29 doubles and 19 homers.The success earned Caissie an invite to play in the 2024 All-Star Futures Game, a contest that features some of the best prospects in Minor League Baseball. An injury kept Caissie from playing in it, but it didn’t slow him down. After the season, Caissie was placed on the 40-man roster by the Cubs.While Caissie possesses a strong arm, plays some good defense and can run the bases well, it’s his power that makes him so valuable. Cubs officials have said over the years that Caissie has boasted not only some of the best exit velocity numbers in baseball.”From a bat speed perspective and the way he squares a ball up, I mean, he’s 107, 108 consistently,” said Iowa manager Marty Pevey.Caissie has continued doing it. Despite battling injuries and a sickness recently, Caissie has put together another strong season in Triple-A. During his first 65 games with Iowa this season, Caissie tallied a .876 OPS with 18 doubles and 12 home runs.The recent run of success has moved Caissie into the top spot in the organization’s prospect rankings and he was recently invited back to the All-Star Futures Game. With how well he’s performed, Caissie has constantly been at the center of trade rumors the last two seasons.
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