India's doping challenge casts shadow over sporting ambitions

Shortly before the Commonwealth Games got underway in Glasgow, Indian sport was jolted by yet another doping scandal.

Four weightlifters — N Ajith (71kg), Sairaj Pardeshi (88kg), Harcharan Singh (110kg) and Vanshita Verma (77kg) — tested positive for banned substances during the qualification period, ruling them out of the Games. The repercussions went beyond individual suspensions. Multiple anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs) cost India a weightlifting quota under Commonwealth Games regulations, leaving Dilbagh Singh out of the squad despite qualifying on merit.

Also Read: India's CWG weightlifting quota reduced due to doping violations; Dilbagh withdrawn


Days later, another blow followed. National judoka Arun Kumar, the reigning Taipei Asian Open champion, was provisionally suspended after testing positive for a banned anabolic steroid. Soon after, Olympian and Birmingham Commonwealth Games silver medallist Tulika Maan was provisionally suspended after recording three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period.

What should have been a conversation about India's medal prospects instead became another reminder of the country's worsening doping crisis.

A stain on India's sporting ambitions

India's anti-doping problem has reached a point where it is no longer merely about athletes failing tests. It has become a question of credibility.

The timing could hardly be worse. Ahmedabad is preparing to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, while India has formally declared its intention to stage the 2036 Olympics. Yet the country continues to top the wrong charts.

According to the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) 2024 Testing Figures Report, India recorded 260 adverse analytical findings from 7,113 samples, translating into a positivity rate of 3.6% — the highest among countries conducting more than 5,000 tests annually for the third consecutive year.

The contrast with other sporting powers is stark. France reported 91 violations from nearly 12,000 tests, Russia 76 from over 10,500 samples, China just 43 positives from more than 24,000 tests, while the United States posted a positivity rate of only 1.1%.

The trend is equally worrying in athletics. The Athletics Integrity Unit currently lists 162 Indian athletes and support personnel under active sanctions — more than Kenya and Russia combined.

Also Read: National Anti-Doping Act set to be amended, Ministry proposes five-year jail for suppliers

The same substances, the same mistakes

The substances involved are hardly new.

Stanozolol, a synthetic anabolic steroid banned under WADA's S1 category, continues to dominate India's anti-doping cases despite years of awareness campaigns. Designed to increase muscle mass, accelerate recovery and reduce body fat, it has surfaced repeatedly across disciplines.

Among the recent athletes to test positive are former Youth World boxing champion Vinka, Asian Indoor rowing champion Gursewak Singh, wrestler Shubham, kabaddi player Akash Nathu Disale and junior sprint sensation Nipam Chauhan.

For Chauhan, the consequences could be particularly severe. India's fastest junior woman sprinter faces losing the silver and bronze medals she won at the Asian Under-20 Championships after returning a positive test for stanozolol.

From catching athletes to dismantling networks

Recognising that the problem extends beyond individual competitors, the government is seeking to widen the scope of anti-doping enforcement.

Speaking at the inaugural conference of WADA's Global Anti-Doping Intelligence and Investigations Network (GAIIN) in New Delhi, Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the proposed amendments to India's anti-doping law would target the ecosystem enabling doping — including coaches, doctors, suppliers and traffickers.

"Doping today is no longer an individual act but an organised multinational enterprise," he said.

The proposed legislation envisages prison terms of five to 10 years, alongside financial penalties for those involved in administering or trafficking banned substances, while athletes would continue to be dealt with under existing sporting regulations.

Mandaviya stressed that India's ambitions go beyond winning medals.

"India is committed not only to sporting excellence but to upholding the highest standards of integrity," he said, adding that awareness, education and technology would remain central pillars of India's clean sport programme.

Meanwhile, the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has nearly doubled annual testing over the past five years.

"Our testing programme has expanded significantly in recent years, complemented by a strategic shift towards risk-based and effectiveness-driven approaches. However, as we recognise, testing alone is no longer sufficient, and integration, intelligence and education must form the core of our antidoping framework," said NADA Director General Anant Kumar.

Education over punishment

Many within Indian sport believe awareness, not fear, will ultimately produce lasting change.

Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, who recently launched the 'Clean Sport' initiative through the Neeraj Chopra Foundation and the Indian Olympic Association, says many violations stem from poor guidance rather than deliberate cheating.

"Any doping violation is a concern because it impacts both the athlete and the sport. But not every case comes from an intention to gain unfair advantage. Sometimes athletes simply don't know enough about what they are consuming or whom to trust for advice," Chopra told TOI.

Explaining why he chose to lead the campaign, he added: "Many athletes lack access to the right information on supplements, medications and anti-doping rules. Years of hard work can be put at risk by a small mistake."

National gymnastics coach Manoj Rana echoed that view.

"Indian sport has witnessed remarkable progress on the global stage, but the rising number of doping violations continues to tarnish these achievements. The answer is not only stricter punishments but stronger prevention," he said.

The debate over science and justice

Not everyone believes the current anti-doping system is beyond scrutiny.

Sports medicine expert Dr PSM Chandran argues that while cheating cannot be defended, the present framework also raises scientific and ethical concerns.

"Doping may indeed be injurious to sport. Fair play matters, and cheating cannot be condoned. However, doping control in its present format is also injurious to athletes as it adheres rigidly to the WADA Code while often disregarding evidence-based medicine, proportionality and natural justice," he said.

Chandran also questioned whether every positive test necessarily translates into a measurable competitive advantage.

"Without such evidence, the claim that banned substances universally enhance performance remains belief, not science," he argued.

A funding paradox

Ironically, while India is expanding its anti-doping efforts, financial support for the institutions responsible for enforcing them has moved in the opposite direction.

The Union Budget reduced allocations for both NADA and the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL). NADA's allocation fell from ₹24.30 crore to ₹20.30 crore, while the revised allocation for NDTL declined from ₹28.55 crore to ₹23 crore.

The reductions raise uncomfortable questions about whether India's anti-doping infrastructure can continue strengthening precisely when greater investment is needed.

The real test lies ahead

For India, Glasgow is more than another Commonwealth Games.

It is a reminder that winning the right to host global sporting events ultimately depends not just on world-class venues or medal tallies, but on trust in the country's sporting system.

India has demonstrated that it has the ambition, infrastructure and organisational capability to emerge as a global sporting power. But unless the culture of doping is addressed through stronger enforcement, better education, scientific support and institutional reform, that ambition will remain incomplete.

As the country prepares to welcome the sporting world in the coming decade, the challenge is no longer simply producing champions. It is ensuring those champions compete — and win — clean.