Singh was given the Bhim Award in February , a high level honour in the state of Haryana, in recognition of his boxing achievements but a subsequent query through India's Right to Information Act questioned the award after it emerged that the boxer had failed a dope test in 2011.

The 32-year-old welterweight, a multi-time national champion, tested positive for methylhexanamine after winning gold in the Jharkhand National Games 2011.

He was ineligible to compete for a period of one year following the positive test but was then cleared by India's National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).

But it appears that his enforced period out of the ring has led the Haryana Government to reconsider handing him the award and steps are now being taken to rescind it.

"It was on the basis of the written statement of Dilbag, verified by his coach, that he has never tested positive for banned substances, that he was given the award," said Haryana's state public information officer and deputy director of the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, SK Goyal.

"NADA informed [us about Singh's] period of one year ineligibility from competing in sports events.

"The matter is under process by the Sports Department for withdrawing his Bhim Award."

Singh is a multi-time Indian national champion and won gold at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010 ©AFP/Getty Images



Singh, who is hoping to part of the Indian boxing squad for Glasgow 2014, has already been in the headlines recently after former Indian boxer Akhil Kumar filed a defamation lawsuit against him.

Singh accused Kumar, who was on the Indian Boxing Federation (IBF) selection committee, of "manipulating" and "rigging" the selection procedure for last year's World Championships in Almaty after he was omitted from the Indian squad.

Commenting on the possibility of being stripped of the Bhim Award and his impending lawsuit, Singh said: "I don't want to hog headlines for wrong reasons.

"I have boxed all my life and I don't want to get into any politics.

"I belong to a grounded family and want to be at peace."

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