Press Trust of India
New Delhi, April 28: Lightweights in the competitive arena but India continued to rule the roost as far as doping was concerned, placed once again in the top three in a WADA report based on the information supplied by various national bodies.
India had the third highest anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs) in 2014, with 96 cases, behind Russia (148) and Italy (123). Among other countries Belgium and France (both 91), Turkey (73), Australia and China (both 49), Brazil (46) and South Korea (43) followed India in the top 10, according to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report, released Thursday. Sources indicated that the number is expected to rise in the 2015 report.
ADRV is a doping case in which a decision is rendered against an athlete following a full disciplinary process. The sanction is either a reprimand or a period of ineligibility.
Out of the 96 ADRVs recorded by India, four are non-analytical (two each in athletics and wrestling) cases like failure to submit to appear for a test, possession, use or trafficking of a prohibited substance following an investigation.
Out of these 96 dope violations, 79 (56 men and 23 women) failed in-competition tests while 13 (nine men and four women) were caught out-of-competition.
Among the sports which contributed most dope cheats in the country, athletics continued to maintain the top spot with 29 cases, followed by powerlifitng (23) and weightlifting (22). Other sports whose athletes were caught for dope violations were basketball (three), judo (three), taekwondo (three), wrestling (three), wushu (three), boxing (two), canoe/kayak, shooting and soft-tennis (one each).
In worldwide dope violations in athletics, India – with 29 such cases – stood behind Russia (39). WADA collected 2,17,762 samples which were tested and analysed in 2014 worldwide by WADA-accredited laboratories. Among them 2,287 samples were reported as adverse analytical findings (AAFs), out of which 1,647 are ADRVs.