The greatest and the most talented, too, often find it hard to handle their celebrity status. Their inability to handle the two most important words in a celebrity?s life ? fame and popularity ? leads to their professional downfall
Abhishek Chakraborty
Drugs, alcohol and gambling are three vices that have ruined the lives of many, starting from filmstars to sportsmen. Be it the once-most-feared-man in the world Mike Tyson or most recently India?s Olympic ?superhero? Vijender Singh, it seems the greatest and most talented people, too, often find it hard to handle fame and popularity, and succumb to these vices. Their inability to handle the two most important words in a celebrity?s life ? fame and popularity ? leaves them nowhere. Here?s a list of 10 sportspersons who got involved with drugs, leading to their downfall.
India
Ashwini Akkunji, Mandeep Kaur and Sini Jose: 4 x 400m relay
Ashwini Akkunji, Mandeep Kaur and Sini Jose won gold in the 4x400m relay in both the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games and the Guangzhou Asian Games in China. They were tested positive for methandienone and were handed a ban of two years by Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Rahul Sharma: Cricket
A right-handed legbreak bowler from Punjab, Rahul Sharma came into the limelight after his impressive bowling performances in IPL 2011 for Pune Warriors. However, Rahul Sharma was among the 42 people who were arrested at a rave party in Juhu, Mumbai, in May 2012. He was tested positive for consumption of drugs.
Rani Yadav: Athletics
Rani Yadav had finished sixth in the women?s 20 km race walk in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. She has tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone during the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games. India?s National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) had banned her for a year.
Vijender Singh: Boxing
Born in Kaluwas, Bhiwani district, Haryana, Vijender is the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal ? bronze. In 2009, he was awarded Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna ? India?s highest sporting honour.
Recently Vijender was found involved in a drug controversy. According to the Punjab police, Kahlon alias Ruby, an alleged Canada-based NRI drug dealer?who was arrested on March 3 in connection with the?seizure of 26 kg heroin, had spoken with Vijender ?about 80?times? on their respective cellphones. Following this, Vijender has been dropped from the upcoming tournaments in Cyprus and Cuba.
International
Sharne Warne: Cricket (Australia)
A former international cricketer from Australia widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game, Sharne Warne was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century in 2000.
In February 2003, a day before the start of the World Cup, Warne was sent home after a drug test during a one-day series in Australia returned a positive result for a banned diuretic. A committee established by the Australian Cricket Board found Warne guilty of breaching the Board?s drug code, and imposed a one-year ban from organised cricket.
Andre Agassi: Tennis (United States)
The eight-time Grand Slam champion, Andre Agassi competed in 15 Grand Slam finals and is the 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He failed an ATP drug test, but wrote a letter claiming the same friend had spiked a drink. The ATP dropped the failed drug test as a warning. However, Agassi publicly acknowledged in his autobiography about the use of drugs and of the lies he told the sport?s authorities after he had tested positive for the stimulant.
Shoaib Akhtar: Cricket (Pakistan)
Shoib Akhtar, also called ?Rawalpindi Express?, took the world by surprise with his ability to bowl at 100 miles an hour. He was tested positive for nandrolone, a performance-enhancing drugs and was subsequently banned from playing cricket for two years in 2006.
Lance Armstrong: Cycling (United States)
The greatest cyclist the world has ever seen, Lance Armstrong had won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times between 1999 and 2005. Armstrong also received global fame and admiration after successfully recuperating from his cancer.
In 2012, in a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey, he admitted that his seven Tour de France titles were fuelled by an array of drugs, reversing years of denials. Armstrong was stripped off his seven Tour de France titles and imposed a lifelong ban from cycling.
Mike Tyson: Boxing (United States)
A retired American professional boxer, Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles. Tyson was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona, on suspicion of DUI and felony drug possession; he nearly crashed into a police SUV shortly after leaving a nightclub. He was also arrested in July 1991 for the rape of 18-year-old Desiree Washington, Miss Black Rhode Island, in an Indianapolis hotel room.
Tyson was sent to jail on February 5, 1999, ending his career, leaving his life in financial ruin and bringing down the billion-dollar industry built on his reputation as the monster of the ring. He was given a two-year sentence, one year of it suspended, for a road-rage attack on two motorists.