Sreejesh comes in for praise for contributing to anti-doping programme

Sreejesh, who stood like a rock in the Indian goal as the men's won India's first medal in hockey after 41 years at the recently-concluded Tokyo Olympics, was mentioned by the ITA in a tweet on Thursday. 

"Congratulations and special thanks to @16Sreejesh who, not only delivered a medal-winning performance for @TheHockeyIndia at @tokyo2020, but also contributes actively to clean sport!," the ITA tweet said. 

Tagged as "Stick to clean sport!" the ITA campaign highlights hockey's clean image in the sporting world where doping has become a real scourge. 

The ITA tweet also endorsed the International Hockey Federation's (FIH) anti-doping programme, which had top stars raising awareness about the ill effects of doping. 

The ITA is an independent body set up by International Olympic Committee (IOC) to fight doping in sports. It has been charged with conducting testing at IOC-conducted events and also liaison with Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) regarding sanctioning of dope offenders during the mega-events.