Quartermiler Sneha Kolleri, a member of the 4x400m women's relay squad, has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) after returning positive for stanozolol, a day after being dropped from the Indian contingent for the Asian Championships in Gumi, South Korea.
Adding to India's embarrassment was long distance runner Varsha Tekam, who has also been suspended provisionally for evading a dope test by the AIU.
"The AIU has provisionally suspended Sneha Kolleri (India) for the Presence/Use of a Prohibited Substance (Stanozolol)," the anti-doping watchdog said.
Stanozolol is a performance enhancing anabolic steroid.
According to AIU, Varsha was suspended for "evading, refusing or failing to submit to sample collection by an athlete" under Article 2.3.
Varsha had finished second in Pune Half Marathon last year with a time of 1:26.22 seconds.
Sneha was dropped from the Asian Championships-bound
She was subjected to an in-competition test at the National Relay championships in Chandigarh last month, and she had also set a personal best in the 400m earlier this year.
She was prevented from boarding her flight for the tournament following the finding.
A provisional suspension bars the tainted athlete from participating in any competition or activity until a final decision at a hearing conducted under the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules or the Integrity Code of Conduct.
A national camper in Thiruvananthapuram, Sneha won the bronze medal with a personal best timing of 53 seconds at the Federation championships in Kochi. The Kerala athlete also beat Vithya Ramraj for the 200m gold medal at the Indian Grand Prix-2 in Thiruvananthapuram.
Sneha was also part of the mixed relay team at the World Relays in China early this month and was picked for the continental championships for both the women's and mixed relay teams.
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