Athens: Women weight lifters Sanamachu Chanu and Pratima Kumari of India found themselves in the hall of shame at the Olympic Games after they failed the dope test, making it one of the darkest chapters in the country's sports history a couple of days after the silver lining provided by shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.

India's Deputy Chef-de-Mission Harish Sharma said in Athens that Chanu, the 25-year-old lifter from Manipur had tested positive for diuretic, a banned substance used to reduce weight, after taking part in the 53-kg category competition on August 15.

The bad news came late in the evening after 28-year-old Pratima Kumari from Bokaro was also found to have consumed testosterone, an anabolic steroid used as a performance-enhancer, even before she could compete in the 63-kg category competition.

The test was conducted on the eve of the Opening of the Games.