The Doping Menace in Indian Sports

As per the recent report of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), India has emerged as the highest contributor to doping violations for the third consecutive year, raising institutional credibility concerns amid ambitions to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games and the 2036 Olympic Games.

About Doping

• Definition: Doping refers to the use of prohibited substances or methods by sportspersons to enhance performance, violating rules of fair play and endangering health.
• Types: Substances such as anabolic steroids, stimulants, Erythropoietin (EPO), growth hormone.
  • Methods Used: Blood doping, gene doping, masking agents.
• Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF): An Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) is a laboratory report indicating the presence of a prohibited substance or its metabolites/markers in an athlete’s sample (urine/blood) collected during dope testing.

The Role of WADA and NADA

• WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency): It acts as the global “police” to prevent the use of banned substances in sports.
• NADA (National Anti-Doping Agency): Functions as the Indian branch of WADA. 

The Grim Reality- WADA 2024 Report

• Top of the Leaderboard: For three consecutive years, India has topped the world in positive doping cases. In the most recent data, India logged 260 adverse analytical findings (AAFs) out of 7,113 tests, for a rate of 3.6%. 
  • France (91) and Italy (85) ranked second and third, respectively, in terms of numbers. 
  • India, far behind China (24,214), ranked seventh in overall testing figures.

Impact on India’s Global Image

• India’s Hosting Ambitions: This low-performance, high-doping trend could undermine India’s dream of hosting mega events such as the World Police & Fire Games (2029), Centenary Commonwealth Games (Ahmedabad) 2030, and Olympic Games Bid, 2036.
• Risk for India: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) may hesitate to award the games to a nation perceived as having a corrupt sports culture

NADA Defence

• Explaining the Higher Positivity Rate: The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) claims that the higher positivity rate is due to bigger testing numbers.
• Past Comparison: In the post-COVID-19 era, the AAFs and total number of samples were 125 and 3,865 (at 3.2%), respectively, in 2022, and 213 and 5,606 (at 3.8%), respectively, in 2023.
• Current-Year Testing (2025): As of December 16 this year, NADA has conducted 7,068 tests, with 110 positive cases, for a rate of 1.5 per cent.
• Awareness and Preventive Measures: NADA has adopted several measures, including awareness drives and encouraging the use of the “Know Your Medicine” app, to curb doping.

Systemic Issues

• Evading Tests: Athletes often flee Dope Control Officers during events.
• Support Staff Complicity: It’s not just the athlete. Coaches, physios, and doctors are often the suppliers. Many have been suspended for “abetting doping”.

Reasons For Doping

• Need: In states like Haryana, a national medal is seen as a guaranteed path to government employment, for example, in the police or railways, leading athletes to take shortcuts.
• Greed: Elite athletes may be blinded by the massive cash rewards and fame that accompany international medals.
• Ignorance: Athletes sometimes accidentally consume banned substances such as terbutaline found in common cough syrups.
  • Example: Cricketer Prithvi Shaw faced a ban due to such an oversight. Additionally, support staff, including coaches and doctors, sometimes mislead athletes by providing banned drugs under the guise of “vitamins.”

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Way Forward

• National Anti-Doping Bill 2025: Currently, NADA is primarily an administrative body under the Sports Ministry, but the Bill aims to transform it into a statutory body, giving it greater power to enforce orders.
• Independence of NADA: Experts suggest NADA must be made entirely independent of the Sports Ministry to avoid conflicts of interest and requires more funding to detect advanced “micro-dosing” techniques.
• Awareness: Athletes should also be made aware that doping substances are harmful to health. They should be encouraged to use the “Know Your Medicine” app to verify whether a substance is banned before consumption.

Conclusion

The Olympic motto Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger) captures the pursuit of excellence, but in the present context of rising doping cases, Honestius (More Honest) should be added to emphasise integrity in sport. True sporting glory lies not only in winning medals but in winning them honestly.