Seema Punia.
Credit: PTI Photo
Bengaluru: Veteran discus-thrower Seema Antil Punia has been handed a 16-month suspension by the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) of NADA, as per the updated list released on Friday.
While the anti-doping body didn't reveal the name, it is learnt that the four-time CWG medallist tested positive for a gynaecological drug during a state-level meet in Haryana in early 2024. The drug is normally used for fertility or assisted reproduction treatments, and falls under what WADA calls “specified substances.”
These substances are basically drugs that can easily show up in day-to-day medical use and aren’t typically taken to boost performance. Because they are so common, the rules allow a lighter punishment if an athlete proves they weren’t seriously at fault. A 16-month ban is pretty much what the panel gives when they believe part of the athlete’s explanation but not enough to clear them fully.
When DH reached out to the Sonipat-born athlete, Seema refused to comment on the matter.
This is actually the third doping-related episode linked to the 42-year-old, after her 2000 World Junior medal was taken away and another controversy that forced her withdrawal from the 2006 Doha Asian Games.
NADA on Friday also announced more suspensions across athletics. Distance runner Pooja Yadav got a four-year ban for a blood-boosting agent, while shot-putter Manjeet Kumar Mahto was hit with a six-year suspension for a mix of anabolic agents and a stimulant. Middle-distance runner Nikesh Dhanraj Rathod received four years for another oxygen-enhancing substance.
Two marathon runners Kuldeep Singh (for evasion) and steeplechaser Chavi Yadav (for anabolic steroid) were also banned for four years each.