Doping fallout: Athletes should be at national camps, says federation chief Sumariwalla

Nine months after Neeraj Chopra sent Indian athletics soaring at the Tokyo Olympics with its first ever gold, the sport has once again been hit hard with high-profile athletes caught in the doping net. After javelin thrower Shivpal Singh tested positive in a National Anti-Doping Agency test last year, Kamalpreet Kaur is the latest to flunk a dope test conducted by Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU). Both athletes, who competed at the Tokyo Olympics, are now provisionally suspended and left to either prove innocence or face bans.

In a year when expectations were running high from the track and field athletes with major events like Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and World Championships lined up, the twin doping cases have come as a major setback.

Kaur, especially, was tipped as a strong prospect this season, after her stellar performance at the Tokyo Olympics, where she finished sixth with a throw of 63.7m. She made vast improvement, considering that her best in 2018 was 61.04m. In the Olympic year, she twice broke the national record (66.59m). Anti-doping watchdog AIU, an independent body of World Athletics, included her in their international testing pool, in which Chopra is the only other Indian athlete.

An Athletics Federation of India official said Kaur has been reluctant to join national camps since last year.

“It was very difficult to get her to train at the national camp. Even before the Tokyo Olympics, she wanted to train on her own with a personal coach and joined the camp later. Why won’t an athlete train at a national camp where you have better coaching facilities?” the official asked.

Shivpal also returned positive in an out-of-competition test in October last year, when he was not in the national camp. It is not only the big names but promising talent like Delhi’s Taranjeet Kaur, who won 100m gold at the National Open Championships, who were caught in the dope net.

Athletics contribute majorly to India’s growing doping numbers. According to the 2019 World Anti-Doping Agency report, India (152) figured third in the list after Russia (167) and Italy (157) in Anti-doping Rule Violations (ADRVs). India had 89 unresolved cases at that point. Among Olympic sports, athletics (20) was third on that list after weightlifting (25). Bodybuilding (57) topped the chart.

Athletics Federation of India president Adille Sumariwalla said the federation is doing everything possible to stop the menace. “It is very disappointing when an athlete who we are banking on as an Olympic prospect tests positive,” Sumariwalla said.

“That is why we want our athletes to stay and train in the camp so that they can be monitored by the agencies. We have asked NADA to increase tests. The number of tests have significantly gone up at domestic meets. I would like to see more tests at the lowest level—state meets, inter-district meets, selection trials for jobs and especially in juniors, so that we can get to the root of this,” he added.

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