Athletics at the 2002 Asian Games – Women's 1500 metres

The women's 1500 metres competition at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea was held on 10 October at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium.

Women's 1500 metres at the 2002 Asian Games
Venue	Busan Asiad Main Stadium
Dates	10 October
Competitors	10 from 8 nations
Medalists
Sunita Rani    India   Tatyana Borisova    Kyrgyzstan   Yoshiko Ichikawa    Japan

On October 13, 2002, Japanese news agency Kyodo News reported that Sunita Rani of India had tested positive for a banned substance, which was later confirmed by Lee Choon-Sup, Deputy Secretary General of the Busan Asian Games Organizing Committee; an unofficial report stated that the substance was the anabolic steroid nandrolone.[1][2] The Indian Chef de Mission at the Games backed Sunita—who denied using any banned drug—and asked for a "B" sample test from Bangkok, but tests were run only at the Asian Games’ Doping Control Center (AGDCC) in Seoul (the laboratory accredited by the IOC). On October 16, the AGDCC confirmed the steroid nandrolone in Sunita's urine sample; as a consequence, the OCA stripped her medal.[3][4] The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) requested the intervention of the International Association of Athletics Federations and the IOC; the samples were jointly reexamined by the World Anti-Doping Agency and the IOC Sub-Commission on Doping and Biochemistry of Sport. In January 2003, the OCA announced that the IOC Medical Director had cleared Sunita of the doping charge and that appropriate action would be taken against the AGDCC.[5] Her medal was reinstated on February 4, 2003, in a ceremony attended by the Secretary General of OCA Randhir Singh and the president of the IOA Suresh Kalmadi.[6]

Schedule

All times are Korea Standard Time (UTC+09:00)

Date	Time	Event
Thursday, 10 October 2002	13:00	Final

Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world, Asian and Games records were as follows.

World Record	Qu Yunxia (CHN)	3:50.46	Beijing, China	11 September 1993
Asian Record	Qu Yunxia (CHN)	3:50.46	Beijing, China	11 September 1993
Games Record	Qu Yunxia (CHN)	4:12.48	Hiroshima, Japan	16 October 1994

Results

Rank	Athlete	Time	Notes
	Sunita Rani (IND)	4:06.03	GR
	Tatyana Borisova (KGZ)	4:12.53
	Yoshiko Ichikawa (JPN)	4:13.42
4	Madhuri Singh (IND)	4:14.78
5	Noh Yu-yeon (KOR)	4:15.91
6	Svetlana Lukasheva (KAZ)	4:16.93
7	Liu Xiaoping (CHN)	4:20.95
8	Phạm Đình Khánh Đoan (VIE)	4:30.69
9	Sumaira Zahoor (PAK)	4:41.57
10	Choi Kyong-hee (KOR)	4:47.17

References

1. Mohan, K. P. (October 14, 2002). "Sunita Rani tests positive". The Hindu. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
2. "Asian Games records". asianathletics.org. Asian Athletics Association. November 27, 2010. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
3. Halarnkar, Samar (October 17, 2002). "Sunita stripped of her medals while her officials run for cover". The Indian Express. New Delhi. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
4. "Sunita Rani stripped of medals". The Hindu. October 17, 2002. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
5. "OCA to return Sunita Rani's medals". Rediff.com. January 7, 2003. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
6. Unnikrishnan, M. S. (February 4, 2003). "Sunita Rani gets back her Asiad medals". The Tribune. New Delhi. Retrieved August 26, 2011.

• 2002 Asian Games Report, Page 154
• Results