NEW DELHI: Indian athletes have claimed the top rank in dope violations once again. The country’s athletes notched up a record 260 involvements in dope-related activities in the year 2024, as revealed by the latest World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) report. According to the report published on Wada’s website late on Tuesday, it has listed India as the worst doping offender globally for the third consecutive time.The findings emerged on the backdrop of India’s preparations to host the centenary edition of the Commonwealth Games in 2030 and is aggressively pushing for a bid to host the 2036 Olympics. The Inter national Olympic Committee (IOC) had red-flagged concerns over rampant doping when an Indian delegation visited its headquarters in the Swiss city of Lausanne in July to assess the feasibility of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Wada says, India accounted for 260 adverse analytical findings (AAFs), reflecting a positivity rate of 3.6 per cent — the highest among all countries that conducted 5,000 or more tests. The Delhi-headquartered National Anti-Doping Agency (Nada) conducted 7,113 tests last year, comprising 6,576 urine samples and 537 blood samples. Of these, 253 urine samples (196 in-competition and 57 out of-competition) returned positive for prohibited substances, while seven blood samples (four in-competition and three out-of-competition) failed the dope test. Nada insisted that the latest figures reflected the anti doping watchdog’s more aggressive testing approach, when a total of 213 cases returned dope positive from 5,606 samples collected in 2023.However, several leading sporting nations recorded far lower positivity rates despite more extensive testing. France tested 11,744 samples and recorded 91 anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs), a 0.8 per cent positivity rate. Russia accounted for 76 ADRVs from 10,514 samples, a 0.7 per cent rate, after leading the global doping charts until 2021. China had just 43 dope failures, with a minimal 0.2 percent positivity rate from 24,214 samples. The US anti-doping agency did a lesser number of tests than India, 6592 in total, and had a positivity rate of 1.1 per cent.
The report highlights how deep the menace runs in the Indian sporting culture and again emphasised on the need to have a robust scientific and research system in the country. The figures also highlighted that Indian coaches, doctors and physiotherapists – attached with teams of different disciplines – lack basic knowledge of the use of performance-enhancing supplements and medicines. “While this position may appear concerning at both national and international levels, it is essential to underscore that the figures are a direct outcome of India’s intensified anti-doping efforts, marked by expanded testing and stronger detection mechanisms rather than a surge in doping prevalence,” stated a statement from Nada as it explained the continued high rate of positivity.In 2025, Nada has said it has so far conducted 7068 tests with a positivity rate of 1.5 per cent after a relatively lower adverse results count of 110.To tackle the doping menace, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) recently formed a new anti-doping panel while the govt has passed a national anti-doping bill aiming to ensure the highest standards of integrity in sports.
