India sprinter Dhanalakshmi Sekar made a comeback this July after testing positive for a banned steroid in 2022 and serving a three-year ban. But weeks after she won three gold medals at the inter-state athletics nationals in August, she failed another dope test and is now facing a ban of at least eight years. She is not alone. For quite some time, a slew of positive dope tests have threatened the joy of clean sports in India. It was an embarrassing and worrying moment for the country when the World Anti-Doping Agency published its testing figures for 2024. To put things in perspective, though India failed to win medals in double-digits at the Olympics, no other nation came close to it on doping fails. For the record, the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) tested 7,113 samples for the global agency in 2024, out of which 260 or 3.6 percent returned positive. In-competition positives were even higher, at 5.82 percent. Among the blood samples analysed, four tested positive during competitions and three at other points of time. Once again, athletics topped this dubious list, followed by weightlifting and wrestling.
The Athletics Federation of India, NADA and the Sports Authority have brought in measures to penalise coaches for such offences, too. So it came as a shock when a junior national athletics coach was suspended earlier this year for alleged ‘complicity’ in aiding doping and trying to evade detection at a training camp. What’s even more perturbing is that there were at least a few positives in all major disciplines. With more and more money coming into sports along with lucrative job offers, athletes try to find easier means to achieve success. It’s like a gamble for some. However, with NADA widening its net, hoodwinking dope control officials has become more difficult. Perhaps it’s time for the authorities, including employers, to bring in stricter penalties for doping. It would be prudent to even take away awards or prize money once an athlete tests positive. At a time when India has entered the dialogue phase for hosting the Olympics in 2036, this is a major blemish. Even the International Olympic Committee has flagged this issue to the Indian Olympic Association. It’s time for India to wake up before it’s too late.