New Delhi: After months of agonising wait, ace Indian athlete Sunita Rani was exonerated by the International Olympic Committee of drug abuse at the Busan Asian Games, according to reports.

Sunita had been stripped off her gold medal after winning the 1,500 metres and the bronze medal for winning the 5,000 metres at Busan for allegedly testing positive for the banned drug nandrolone.

A highly dejected Sunita had maintained right through that she was innocent of the charges. The Indian Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) conducted an inquiry into the whole affair and Sunita was found not guilty.

The Indian authorities contested the testing procedures during the Asian Games and had appealed to the IOC to revoke the ban on the "innocent athlete". According to information available on Sunday, Sunita had been cleared by the IOC of all doping charges and her medals were expected to be restored soon.

Agencies