Aspiring Indian athletes aiming for World University Games tickets in dope net

Several Indian college-going athletes aspiring to earn tickets to the World University Games have failed dope tests for performance enhancing drugs.

The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) conducted the tests during the Khelo India University Games held earlier this year in April in Bengaluru. The competition was held in various disciplines, including athletics.

The athletes have been provisionally suspended, pending a hearing. Since almost all cases are related to steroids, the athletes could face a four-year suspension for first offense for steroids, if found guilty.

Athletes failing the tests at the Khelo India University Games could be a sort of setback to the flagship event of the sports ministry, launched in 2020 to scout potential athletes for major multi-discipline events like the Asian Games and Olympics.

The National Sports Federation (NSF) and the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) are also stakeholders of the Khelo India University Games.

After dope tests, selection procedure for World University Games to be conducted again

Since the World University Games, which were scheduled to be held this year in China, have been postponed to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the selection procedure would be conducted again, an AIU official said. The Games were initially scheduled for 2021 but were postponed to 2022.

The competitors for the Bengaluru edition of the Khelo India University Games were selected based on their performances during the 2021 and 2022 All India Inter-University competitions.

“We had apprised NADA about the Inter-University competition but no dope test was conducted,” the AIU official told Sportskeeda.

The phenomenon of taking banned drugs to prop up performance during inter-university sports competitions is nothing new. What is intriguing is that the performances of those caught doping at the 2022 edition in Bengaluru was ordinary.

A middle-distance runner from Uttarakhand and thrower from Haryana are among several players in the dope net. The majority of the athletes are in their early 20s and have been competing on the junior circuit as well as at the international level, but have never failed a dope test in the past.

A national level athletics coach said it was confusing that despite taking the drugs, the performance of those failing dope tests wasn’t outstanding.

“Athletes taking aid of drugs for small gains at college level hints that doping is deep-rooted in the country,” the athletics coach said.

According to an official from the AIU, several athletes skipped the Bengaluru competition when it was announced that medal winners would be subject to dope tests.

“We have witnessed athletes withdrawing from the competition during the inaugural edition of the Khelo India University Games in Odisha,” the AIU official said on condition of anonymity.

Amidst the bonhomie of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games celebrations, news of the young athletes failing the tests at the Khelo India University Games will surely be a dampener for sports administrators as well as the sports ministry.