The writing is on the wall, and it shouldn’t please India. The World Anti-Doping Agency’s 2022 report saw India being identified as the country with the highest number of doping offenders. Out of 4,064 samples collected from Indian athletes, 127 individuals tested positive for banned substances, constituting 3.26% of the sample size. This report comes on the back of a 10-year WADA global study of positive doping tests by children and young teenagers which saw India emerge as the second worst in the world in this respect. These reports establish that India has a serious doping problem, one that is fast spiralling out of control. One of the big reasons for this happening is the awards and cash rewards that are doled out by states and the sports ministry. The money and the jobs are temptations that many athletes have been unable to resist. The doping isn’t hi-tech and that is apparent from the number of athletes who are being caught in the WADA net.
To counter this, India needs to work on two fronts. One, educate athletes on the dangers of doping and make sure that youngsters are taking the right supplements. Two, test not just international athletes but others as well. So rather than rely on WADA, the National Anti-Doping Agency needs to step up tests at the age-group and state level. The final push has to come from the government. India needs to criminalise doping. If you get caught, you go to jail and that should apply not just to athletes but also coaches. China has shown that it can work. Since formally criminalising doping in sports on March 1, 2021, their numbers have dropped. In the 2022 WADA report that India topped, China’s athletes were tested 19,228 times (almost five times that of India) but produced just 33 positive results. It may seem harsh but given the way things are, it just might be the way India needs to go as well.
