NADA crackdown on dope test evaders causes a flutter
A team from National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) swooped on a locality near the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium last week to collect samples, catching state-level athletes there off-guard. The team of four NADA officials reached Kotla Mubarakpur around noon last Thursday, at a locality where more than 200 athletes from nearby places in Delhi stay in rented accommodation and train at the JLN stadium. Coaches, on condition of anonymity, called it an unprecedented incident as NADA normally does not go for sample collection in residential areas. More so, these athletes are neither in NADA regular testing pool nor file whereabouts like national level athletes. “The NADA team came prepared with a list of names for sample collection, mainly from the Delhi state meets.
It raised an alarm among the athletes and some of them managed to flee. The NADA officials went to three or four houses and collected the sample of one athlete,” according to coaches aware of the development. A NADA official called it a “routine affair of target testing based on information from the intelligence wing.”
However, many in the athletics fraternity believe the crackdown was a result of recent incidents in Delhi state and cross country meets where athletes evaded testers and even refused to come to collect medals for fear of being subjected to dope testing.
“We have never heard of NADA officials going to a residential area. They go to the houses of those athletes who are in the NADA testing pool and file whereabouts. But these are mostly state level athletes, junior athletes. Such surprise visits will instil fear among athletes, which is necessary,” said a Delhi state coach.
Another coach, however, felt NADA should save such measures for hostels where national level athletes train. “There are many big fishes NADA should bother about. Why don’t they go to the JLN Stadium hostel where national level athletes stay and train instead of going to residences of upcoming athletes? The situation was such that landlords thought these athletes had committed a crime,” said the coach.
NADA has increased its activity in the last few months since an infamous incident at the JLN Stadium where allegedly seven athletes fled from running the 100m final at the Delhi Athletics Championships after NADA dope control officers landed for sample collection. Interestingly, the lone athlete who stayed back and completed that race flunked the dope test. That incident came to the notice of the World Anti-Doping Agency and World Athletics. The Athletics Federation of India then set up a committee along with its Delhi unit to enquire into the incident.
It has been learnt that most of the athletes who missed the 100m race have not reported to the committee. AFI says it is mulling strict action against them. India is among the world’s top three nations in doping violations. Recently, WADA also raised a red flag regarding doping violations among minors with India second in that list, behind Russia. NADA got more teeth last year after the parliament passed an anti-doping law giving it wider powers to search, seize and investigate. However, more work needs to be done before its implementation.
