After Dhanalakshmi, Aishwarya Babu, 3 Indian athletes fail dope test ahead of CWG 2022

New Delhi: After India’s star sprinter S Dhanalakshmi and long jumper Aishwarya Babu, Aneesh Kumar, para discus thrower and Geeta, para powerlifter have also failed the dope test ahead of Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The samples were collected by NADA and both the athletes tested positive for banned substances.

Geeta tested positive for anabolic steroid while Kumar’s sample was found to contain diuretics and masking agent Hydrochlorothiazide. Geeta received a provisional suspension and has been withdrawn from the CWG contingent. On the other hand, Aneesh has not been handed provisional suspension since Hydrochlorothiazide, under the WADA Code, is a specified substance and provisional suspension is not mandatory for specified substances. The discus thrower is likely to compete in the Birmingham games.

This discovery has affected India’s chances in the upcoming Commonwealth Games. Aneesh Kumar was India’s leading para discus thrower and gold medal winner at World Military Games in 2019. Aneesh Kumar also competes in the IF1 category in Shot Put also. His sample was collected at the training base in Pune while Geeta was tested at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, during her training camp for Pyeongtaek World Para Powerlifting Asia-Oceania Open Championships in South Korea.

Apart from these two athletes, a member of the women’s 4x100m relay team has also tested positive for a banned drug and is set to withdraw from CWG, according to PTI. However, the source has not revealed the name of the athlete. A total of five CWG-bound athletes failing the dope test is surely not good news for the Indian contingent.

Other Indian athletes like discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur, who stood 6th at Tokyo Olympics, javelin thrower Shivpal Singh, quartermiler M.R. Poovamma, former National javelin record holder Rajender Singh and National gold medallists Taranjeet Kaur and K. Naresh Kumar have also failed dope tests in the last 12 months.