Kolkata: Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, India's lone gold medal winner in athletics in the Bangkok Asian Games, on Tuesday called for exemplary punishment for Sunita Rani, who tested positive for a banned substance in the recent Busan Games.

Jyotirmoyee, who won the gold in women's 800 metres and 1,500 metres at Bangkok, lambasted Sunita for sullying India's image and said, "Because of her, some quarters have got the ammunition to question the good performance of the Indian athletes who have returned with a rich haul of medals."

Sikdar, who hails from Ranaghat in West Bengal's Nadia district, told that never in the history of the Games has any Indian athlete tested positive for taking performance-enhancing drugs.

"Sunita has sullied India's image. As such, the Indian Olympic Association should give her exemplary punishment so that no other sportsperson ever dares to take recourse to such unethical means," she said.

Sunita, who won a gold medal in the women's 1,500 metres setting a new Asian Games record and a bronze medal in 5000 metres, had tested positive for nandronlone and was stripped of her medals by the Olympic Council of Asia.

Sikdar also said Sunita's claim of foul-play in the results of the dope tests did not hold water as no other athlete from India had tested positive.

"Why should she be singled out when there were so many other medal winners from our country?" Sikdar asked.

PTI