Sports and Performance Enhancing Drugs (Doping)

[Kumar]

I agree with Prasen. expand the list. Make mandatory drug testing important for govt jobs.

Mugundan, could we not set limits to automatically enroll athlets in this list if they reach a certain criteria in their specific field?

[Mugundan]

When they are unable to do three tests each for an athlete an year, in a list of 130-plus, how could it be practical to expand the list?
Each test may cost between $250 to $350-450 depending on where you are testing. Labs have different rates. Transportation costs will be extra. NADA tested about 4000 samples in 2019 (2020 being Covid year there was much lesser numbers), out of which around 1000-plus samples were in athletics. They have tried in departmental meets and govt job selection in the past (in some such, candidates ran away!!). Can't say whether anything was found and if so, who pursued those cases. Every person who tests positive is not NADA's responsibility. Every registered athlete is.
It may take more than a month to complete the paper work to get an athlete into the testing pool. Performances vary to such an extent that an athlete who does well today might slump in a fortnight. There would be little point in including such athletes in RTP. Thus one excepetional performance today should ideally not mean inclusion. A series of such performances could lead to such inclusion. And it does happen. Kamalpreet Kaur was included for an outstanding year in 2021 not to speak of a huge improvement.

[prasen9]

Well, well, well. We told them so. Sports India is prescient.

[jayakris]

^^ Oh... my... God...

Who knew. I came up with that stuff only because of PopEye. Now look where that has gone... Haha.

[suresh]

[Mugundan]

Posting this here for the record since nothing has moved on this thread for quite some time, and two of our top athlets have been caught for doping:
https://www.thehindu.com/sport/athletic ... 661134.ece
The 6.73m at Chennai had raised doubts about Asihwarya. She even talked about going after Anju George's national record (6.83m, 2004) in the final. She had the NR in triple jump, another surprise.
Dhanalakshmi has been doing better and better of late. Obviously there looks much doping going on among women's sprinters (Delhi's Taranjeet Kaur, who timed 11.50s was caught earlier)

[sameerph]

Yes, someone all of a sudden jumping to 6.73M out of nowhere where Anju Bobby George had struggled to reach that mark after many years was clearly suspicious. At some point of this had to come out.

[jayakris]

Dhanalakshmi was in our cross-hairs since March 2021 when we had pretty much concluded that she was doping, after Mugu posted how her numbers changed out of the blue. No surprise there.

[Mugundan]

Dhanalakshmi banned for three years. New WADA rule (2021) allows reduction of one year for prompt admission.
https://sportstar.thehindu.com/athletic ... 715853.ece

[Mugundan]

One more big name falls...the name is not out yet, but the grapevine is he is a shot putter!
Big setback for Indian athletics as leading thrower fails dope test (sportskeeda.com)

[Mugundan]

The above link is not a proper one.
This one looks to be okay...
https://www.sportskeeda.com/athletics/b ... e-test?utm

[jayakris]

Was Kamalpreet doping before the Olympics also? Couldn't have been, I guess. She probably would've been caught.

[Mugundan]

Was Kamalpreet doping before the Olympics also? Couldn't have been, I guess. She probably would've been caught.

Hundred per cent! Her spike in performance was crying out to the testers. After Olympics, WA (IAAF) included her in its Registered Testing Pool (RTP). I was surprised she fell into the trap so quickly.
Her performance chart:
2017: 55.95
2018:61.04
2019: 60.25
2021: 66.59
2022: 61.39
In 2021: 66.59m, 65.05, 64.00, 63.70 (last two in Olympics)
She jumped from 61.04 in 2018 to 66.59 in 2021.
Irrespective of where her doping case is headed, I am convinced her performances at least from 2021 had been suspect.

[jayakris]

So she timed it right, before the Olympics, and managed not to get caught then. I remember that we were suspicious of what was going on. Thanks, Mugu.

[prasen9]

What is this comment about Poovaman being out only for three months for a positive test?

I wonder why she could not repeat the timing of the Olympics to not get caught? Is it because the traces remain in the body for an undetermined amount of time that varies randomly and so perfect evasion is not possible by timing the doping?