Govt data points to India’s dope trouble

NEW DELHI: Data by the sports ministry shows a sharp increase in doping cases, especially in athletics, in buildup to major events like the Olympics and Asian Games.

Responding in the Rajya Sabha during question hour, sport minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, said the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) was conducting awareness programmes to curb the menace.

According to the data, the number of dope cheats was 23 in 2013, which swelled to 31 in 2014. In 2012, which was an Olympic year, 45 athletes tested positive. This could be linked to the urge to win tickets to international meets, earn prize money or departmental promotions. Between January 2012 and April 2015, the number of cases stood at a mind-boggling 398.

There were at least 177 positive cases across disciplines in 2012, compared to 104 in 2013 and 107 in 2014. This year, 10 cases have been reported so far.

Apart from athletics, powerlifting and weightlifting have reported the most cases of players taking performance-enhancing drugs since January 2012.

Though no top lifter has failed a dope test at the international level in the last four years, the number of cases stood at 30, 27 and 30 respectively in domestic competitions in 2012-2014.

In powerlifting, those testing positive was 25 in 2014, eight in 2013 and 13 in 2012.

In circle kabaddi, which is popular in Punjab, there were 26 cases in 2012 during the world kabaddi meet, which was held in different parts of the state under the state sports department.

While grapplers such as Sushil Kumar raised the profile of the sport by winning back-to-back medals at the Beijing and London Olympic Games, at least 17 dope cheats were caught in 2012. The number came down to 13 in 2013 and dwindled to three in 2014.

In boxing, at least 14 cases were reported in the buildup to the 2012 London Games. The preAsian Games year (2013) saw six cases while three instances were reported last year.

Even not-so-popular disciplines like soft tennis and volleyball have reported cases, but the numbers are low.