India's persistent problem with doping in sports has once again come under scrutiny, with the latest figures from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) revealing that the nation tops the global charts for doping violations in 2023. The Sports Ministry has responded with a pledge to combat the issue through a multi-pronged approach, including amendments to the existing Anti-Doping Act and aggressive awareness programs.
According to WADA's 2023 testing figures, India recorded the highest positivity rate among countries that analyzed 5,000 or more samples. Out of 5,606 samples, 214 were found to have Adverse Analytical Findings (AAFs), resulting in a positivity rate of 3.8%. This is a significant increase from 2022, where 3,865 tests yielded a 3.2% positivity rate. This places India far ahead of other major sporting nations. For instance, China, with a considerably larger sample size of 28,197 tests, had a mere 0.2% AAF rate. Similarly, the USA (1.0%), France (0.9%), Germany (0.4%), and Russia (1.0%) reported much lower rates despite conducting a high volume of tests.
In real numbers, India's 214 violations dwarfed those of France (105), Russia (99), the USA (66), China (60), and Germany (57). Globally, out of 204,809 tests, 1,820 were positive, with India contributing over 11% of the total doping cases, which is the highest by any single country. The National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) in Delhi tested 6,077 samples, including those from neighboring countries, and had an AAF rate of 3.63%, the highest among the 30 WADA-accredited labs worldwide.
The data indicates that doping is prevalent in specific sports in India. Athletics leads with 61 AAFs from 1,223 tests, including both in-competition and out-of-competition samples. Weightlifting follows with 38 AAFs from 451 samples, while powerlifting and wrestling contributed 28 and 10 AAFs respectively.
The Sports Ministry acknowledges the severity of the situation and has promised decisive action. A source within the ministry stated that "Any amount of doping is unacceptable, but we have to acknowledge that our testing is vigorous, and with every year the sample size is increasing. With our aggressive awareness campaigns, we intend to bring the numbers down in the next two years." The ministry plans to reintroduce the National Anti-Doping Act in Parliament after addressing WADA's objections to certain provisions. This will likely involve restructuring the bill to align with WADA's requirements.
Furthermore, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is taking steps to combat doping. This includes targeting coaches involved in doping, identifying training centers that serve as "hideouts" for athletes evading testing, and sharing this information with organizations such as the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) and NADA. Coaches found complicit in doping will be blacklisted and excluded from junior and senior national teams.
India's struggle with doping extends to minors as well. WADA has identified India as one of the countries with a high incidence of doping among athletes under the age of 18, which raises ethical concerns. Recent cases highlight the issue. For example, junior national team coach Ramesh Nagpuri was suspended for "complicity" in doping, and seven athletes were penalized for evading tests.
The rise in doping cases has prompted a need for stricter laws, more effective implementation, and increased awareness among athletes and coaches. The Sports Ministry's commitment to amending the Anti-Doping Act and launching awareness campaigns is a step in the right direction. However, success will depend on the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders, including sports federations, coaches, athletes, and anti-doping agencies, to create a culture of clean sports in India.
