I must admit, however, that I didn’t envisage covering a story about sambo on this topic when I arrived in Moscow on Thursday (March 24) ahead of the sport’s two-day World Cup.

The opening evening of finals had barely begun when it was revealed by International Sambo Federation (FIAS) President Vasily Shestakov that four sambists, including two Russians, had tested positive for meldonium 

Rather than writing an update on sambo's continued push for International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognition, I now initially find myself reflecting on what is a slightly different twist on the drug scandal currently engulfing sport. 

It's important to make clear that each of the four cases are set to be investigated by FIAS, but it is still a concerning sign to say the least.

Although taking banned substances can never be condoned, we all know the ultimate reason why so many athletes competing at the highest level do so - for the money.

Perhaps it is therefore even more worrying to see this creep into a non-Olympic sport such as sambo, where the financial gains surely aren’t significant enough to serve as an explanation.

Maybe the will to win is enough incentive in itself for some athletes, regardless of what comes with that.

Another worrying thought. 

Shestakov told the Russian news agency TASS that FIAS "stands against any athletic violation", before adding "the issue of doping is not an exception".

Asked about the issue, FIAS secretary general Roberto Ferraris was keen to stress the praise sambo had received from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

"We have had a big evolution of our activity," he told insidethegames yesterday.

"In 2012, I was the first member of FIAS in the Doping Commission at the World Championships [in Minsk].

"We started to work over there and we have done good work.

"We receive compliments directly from the WADA about our activity, our promotion and propaganda.

"[It’s our responsibility] to continue to provide clear information."

Compliments or not, Shestakov certainly won’t want to have to make a habit of reporting positive drug tests at a time when sambo is looking to steadily strengthen its bid for IOC recognition.

This process continued on the opening day of the World Cup when the FIAS Executive Committee met at the Russian Olympic Committee headquarters.

The Executive Committee unanimously adopted two key documents - a disciplinary code and an application document for event organisers - which FIAS claim are necessary for the daily life of the sambo community and for entering the Olympic family.

The increasing number of Continental Championships held last year was also noted as a major plus-point by Shestakov, who highlighted FIAS's success in implementing sambo into the programme of various multi-sport events.

A major breakthrough in this regard came earlier this month as sambo’s inclusion on the programme for the 2017 Central American Sports Games was confirmed.

The 11th edition of one of the largest sporting events in Central America is due to take place in Nicaragua’s capital Managua, which last year hosted the Pan-American Sambo Championships.

Competitions are set to be held in 28 sports; 20 of which are Olympic sports and seven of which are IOC recognised.

As for the other one…that’s sambo - the only sport not recognised by the IOC to be included on the Games programme.

If ever there was a good omen for the future.

Continual growth is a must if this is to come to fruition with Ferraris identifying the need to ensure more countries embrace the traditions of sambo - traditions that fans are very much accustomed to here in this part of the world.

"We’re in a good position in sambo because we have it in five continents and around 90 countries," he added. 

"My opinion is that it is already a good number of countries but we’re still working on the quality of the programme in each country."

Russia is very much the dominant force in sambo, which originated in the Soviet Union in the 1920s when soldiers of the then-Soviet Army developed their own hand-to-hand combat technique.

The country won 19 of a possible 27 gold medals at the Sambo World Cup with Georgia coming closest to matching them with three.

In a bid to optimise competitiveness at the latter stages of tournaments, a ranking system is due to come into effect this year based on previous results.

Sergey Eliseev, vice-president of FIAS, discussed the implementation of the system at the Executive Committee meeting, where he confirmed that Sochi will follow in the footsteps of this year’s World Championship hosts Sofia by staging the 2017 edition.

With so much reason for positivity surrounding sambo, FIAS will be hopeful that the reported meldonium cases don’t curtail momentum.

Some argued that Sharapova was honest in admitting to her mistake (others saw it as a cry for sympathy) and although Shestakov isn’t the one to have tested positive in sambo’s case, it could be said that he has shown the same trait in admitting the mistake of the sport he leads.

The old adage goes that honesty is always the best policy but that doesn’t necessarily make anyone or anything immune to repercussions.

If the outcome of the investigations into each of sambo’s reported meldonium cases reflects badly on the sport, the repercussions could be very damaging.