Drug cheats put India Olympic bid and careers at risk

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The International Olympic Committee has raised concerns about the number of Indian competitors taking performance-enhancing drugs.

PHOTO: REUTERS

NEW DELHI – Indian sport is battling to shake off its reputation for being one of the world’s worst doping offenders as the country pushes an ambitious bid to host the 2036 Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has raised concerns about the number of Indian competitors taking performance-enhancing drugs and so too has the country’s best-known athlete.

The 2021 Olympic javelin champion Neeraj Chopra made a blunt admission earlier this year.

“Doping is a big problem in India among our athletes,” he told local media.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) last month formed a new anti-doping panel after the IOC flagged India’s poor record.

The government has passed a new national anti-doping bill aiming to tighten enforcement, expand testing facilities and “ensure the highest standards of integrity” in sports.

“Obviously the IOC would want to make sure that in awarding the Games to a country, the host has a robust doping policy and governance,” Michael Payne, former IOC marketing director, told AFP.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) lists India among the worst offenders among nations submitting more than 1,000 samples.

India’s national anti-doping agency, NADA, insists the figures reflect more aggressive testing in the nation of 1.4 billion people. From 5,606 samples collected in 2023, 213 came back positive.

The synthetic steroid stanozolol is the most widely used banned substance taken by Indian athletes.

Despite its vast population India has won only 10 Olympic golds in its history. Experts say desperation to add to that