India's six top women athletes, including Asian Games double gold-medallist Ashwini Akkunji, were, on Friday, handed one-year bans for flunking dope tests earlier this year, virtually ending their chances of participating in the London Olympics next year.
Doping in Indian athletics assumed scandalous proportions after five more athletes, including Commonwealth and Asian Games gold medallist Sini Jose, flunked tests conducted by the National Anti-Doping Agency. Jose, top quarter-miler Jauna Murmu, whose samples tested positive on Wednesday, another 400m runner Tiana Mary Thomas, long jumper Hari Krishnan and shot putter Sonia returned positive for anabolic steroids in their 'A' samples.
There are now new questions that some athletes, whose bans prevented them from competing in the Tokyo Olympics, will have the opportunity to do so due to the change in dates.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Wednesday that another batch of athlete data has been leaked by the same Russian cyber espionage group that published confidential data earlier this week.
Four wrestlers were axed from the Indian squad on Thursday for failing dope tests barely a month before the Commonwealth Games begin there.
In another crackdown in the backdrop of the athletics doping scandal, a team of National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) on Monday conducted raids at the Sports Authority of India's centre at Bangalore.
Olympic bronze-medallist Vijender Singh had tested negative for any banned substances conducted by the National Anti-Doping Agency.
The athletes, Mandeep Kaur, AC Ashwini and Sini Jose, who were part of the 4x400 metres relay gold winning quartet at the Commonwealth and Asian Games, and Jauna Murmu, Priyanka Panwar and Tiana Mary Thomas, tested positive positive for anabolic steroids in May and June this year and were suspended, and their Ukrainian coach Yuri Ogorodnik was sacked.
In a bid to put an end to the drug controversy, the Sports Ministry on Monday directed the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) to immediately carry out dope tests on star boxer Vijender Singh, who has been accused of consuming heroin by the Punjab police.
Germany, preparing in Italy for the World Cup starting next month, were taken by surprise when six doping testers showed up unannounced on Wednesday. 'Six NADA (National Anti-Doping Agency) testers arrived today for an unexpected doping control,' German soccer federation spokesman Harald Stenger told reporters.
Nine more kabaddi players were caught, on Thursday, for using banned steroids, taking the total number of dope flunked players who were tested early this month during the selection trials of the World Cup to 19.
The teams of National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) collected samples of 81 players of all the teams who are taking part in the ongoing third World Cup Kabaddi.
Mumbai FC footballer Nishant Mehra has been banned for two years by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for failing the dope test conducted on him in January this year.
Doping is more rampant among junior athletes than top ranked ones and the National Anti-Doping Agency should "tighten the screws" to curb the menace, Athletics Federation of India president Adille J Sumariwalla said on Sunday.
The 'B' sample of Mumbai FC midfielder Nishant Mehra has also returned positive for a prohibited substance, raising the possibility of an I-League player being banned for doping for the first time.
The National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) on Tuesday issued a list of dos and don'ts to athletes, who are going to represent India in the upcoming London Olympics, strictly warning them against the usage of performance enhancing drugs.
Dope-tainted weightlifter Sanamacha Chanu faces a life ban after her 'B' sample test, conducted by the National Anti-Doping Agency, also turned out positive for a banned stimulant. The 'A' sample of 31-year-old Chanu, one of the most successful woman weightlifters in the country, which was taken during the trials for the Commonwealth Games in August had tested positive for methylhexaneamine.
Facing a life ban after failing a second dope test, weightlifter Sanamacha Chanu on Thursday accused the Indian Weightlifting Federation of keeping her in the dark about the banned substance methylhexaneamine, which she said she cannot even spell properly.
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) said it has no issues on Olympic bronze medallist boxer Vijender Singh joining the camp in Patiala as he has got clearance from the NADA.
The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) carried out a search at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala last month and seized containers of the substance from the athlete's room, its director general Navin Agarwal told Reuters by telephone.
The National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) conducted a surprise raid at the National Institute of Sports, Patiala and took samples from the campers in the backdrop of the doping scandal in athletics.
The organizing committee of second World Cup Kabaddi on Sunday temporarily suspended four players who were tested positive for banned drugs by National Anti Doping Agency laboratory.
A Kerala-based organisation moved the Delhi high court on Friday against the Centre's last-minute decision to deny triple jumper Renjith Maheshwary the prestigious Arjuna award in 2013.
They weren't up for a windfall even after the trophy but life was certain to get a lot better as some sponsors and state governments stepped up to lift them financially.
Continuing its drive against drug cheats following the doping scandal in Indian athletics, the National Anti Doping Agency officials conducted a surprise raid on the P T Usha School of Athletics in Kozhikode, Kerala, on Friday.
The doping menace in India's Olympic sport has always left the establishment embarrassed and the BCCI in a marked departure has set up an anti-doping helpline so that its domestic cricketers (men and women) are aware of the medicines and supplements they are consuming.
Continuing its drive to catch drug cheats following the athletics doping scandal, National Anti-Doping Agency on Saturday conducted its third raid in a week at a Sports Authority of India facility with a surprise early morning swoop down at the Bhopal Centre.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Wednesday it was 'extremely troubled' by reports claiming banned Kenyan athletes were asked for money to reduce their doping suspensions.
The WADA investigation found that the sample analysis methods of the NDTL were not upto the mark. The NDTL can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Lausanne in the next 21 days.
Legendary athlete P T Usha on Wednesday batted for bringing all competitions under National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) and sought more focus on the field of sports medicine and science to help players recover from injuries.
Khelo Bharat Niti: Regulatory bodies for better sports administration but will IOA, NSFs play ball?
Novak Djokovic expressed his frustration at being "kept in the dark" about world number one Jannik Sinner's doping case, saying in Brisbane on Sunday that it was not a good look for tennis.
Although the change will have no immediate effect on current bans on the Russian federations for athletics, weightlifting and paralympics, it opens the door for their return, following the reinstatement of the Russian Olympic Committee after the country was banned from this year's Winter Games in South Korea.
In a bid to nab the four core group athletes who reportedly disappeared before dope tests were conducted by National Anti-Doping Agency in Patiala, the country's doping watchdog has asked chief coach Bahadur Singh to submit a report on the episode by next week.
The WADA first suspended NDTL in August last year for a period of six months. A fresh round of inspection by the world body, much to the embarrassment of country's sporting establishment, showed that non-conformities still existed.
Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel on Wednesday said that doors are almost shut for dope-tainted wrestler Narsingh Yadav to go to Rio Olympics and said it is time for the conspiracy theories to stop.
Hima Das has been provisionally suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for three whereabout failures in 12 months.
Dope-tainted lifter Shailaja Pujari, who is facing a life ban after flunking a National Anti-Doping Agency test recently, on Thursday pleaded her innocence. Shailaja, who competes in 75-kg category, was found by the NADA positive for an anabolic steroid.
The National Anti-Doping Agency's appeals' panel has exonerated middle-distance runner Shalu Chaudhary of doping charges and lifted her four-year ban after DNA testing revealed that her urine sample had either been tampered with or contaminated at the time of collection.
Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal's revelations came just a few days after India has been placed at the third spot in worldwide dope violation in 2014 in a report published by World Anti-Doping Agency.
