Hall of shame as 260 players fail doping tests in 2024

This could be the highest number in the history of Indian doping; samples too have increased to 7466. This was revealed by the sports ministry in Rajya Sabha

- Indraneel Das @Chennai

EVEN as the Anti-Doping Bill has been submitted in the Parliament, India are up for another big doping embarrassment yet again. The country that had been topping the world charts, has now seen a huge spike in positive cases. The number in 2024 stands at 260. This could be the highest number of positive doping cases in the country. This was revealed during a question hour session (Unstarred question No-2231) in the Rajya Sabha. India's testing agency is National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).

This after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had pointed out to India its high number of doping positive cases and its subsequent impact on its Olympic 2036 bid. India have been topping the charts in the World Anti-Doping Agency figures, both testing and Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV). India are already among the top nations when it comes to doping by junior athletes. However, the latest figure released by the ministry during the question hour could be the highest. Before this, the highest number stood at 225 in 2019.