Kathmandu, November 30:

The German Embassy in Kathmandu today rejected the National Sports Council’s (NSC) allegations against Gunter Lange, Director of Nepal-German Athletics Long Term Development Project.

The probe committee, formed by NSC after the 10th South Asian Games double gold medallist Ranjendra Bhandari tested positive for the performance enhancing drugs during the Colombo Games, had alleged Lange the chief culprit while coaches Sushil Narsingh Rana and Narayan Pradhan his accomplices.

The probe committee report stated that Lange, in coordination with Rana and Pradhan, had been providing the banned substance to the middle distance runner Bhandari.

Nepal-German Athletics Long Term Development Project started its activities since May 2003 following an agreement between the two governments. “Since mid-2005 allegations were raised against this bilateral project and in particular against the German manager (Lange). Recently the German manager was blamed in addition to be the main culprit in a doping scandal,” a German Embassy said in a release.

“The NSC probe committee alleged the involvement of the project and especially its German manager in the doping scandal without providing any proof. Therefore, the German Embassy urges the NSC probe committee to either produce hard evidence or immediately withdraw the allegations which so far seem to have been fabricated in order to find a scapegoat for the doping scandal.”

The press release further added: “The Embassy rejects allegations raised in the committee’s report insinuating that the German government conducts a sport doping programme through the bilateral Project.”