NADA asks athletes to name coaches, physio

The National Anti-Doping Agency is looking to crack down on coaches and support personnel who abet doping but often get away without any punishment, HT has learned.

- Avishek Roy

NEW DELHI:

At the National Federation Senior Athletics Championship in Kochi on Monday, NADA dope testers asked every athlete to write the names of their coaches and doctors/physio on the doping control form before collecting samples.

The development comes in the wake of chief junior coach Ramesh Nagpuri being suspended by NADA on Saturday for 'complicity' —he allegedly helped two athletes evade dope tests in SAI centre Hyderabad.

Two more coaches — Karamveer Singh (judo/athletics) and Rakesh (athletics) were also suspended by NADA for 'complicity' and 'administration of prohibited substance'. It is the first time that NADA is coming down hard on coaches in a big way. Dronacharya awardee Ramesh is known as Dutee Chand's coach and several promising juniors.

There was an instance in the past when in 2022, Mumbai coach Mickey Menezes was punished and banned for 'complicity' when his trainee failed a dope test. But that remained a one-off.