<p>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.</p>.<p>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.”</p>.Discus thrower Navjeet Kaur Dhillon fails dope test, banned for three years.<p>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.</p>.<p>When DH reached out to the Sonipat-born athlete, Seema refused to comment on the matter.</p>.<p>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.</p>.<p>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.</p>.<p>Two marathon runners Kuldeep Singh (for evasion) and steeplechaser Chavi Yadav (for anabolic steroid) were also banned for four years each.</p>
<p>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.</p>.<p>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.”</p>.Discus thrower Navjeet Kaur Dhillon fails dope test, banned for three years.<p>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.</p>.<p>When DH reached out to the Sonipat-born athlete, Seema refused to comment on the matter.</p>.<p>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.</p>.<p>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.</p>.<p>Two marathon runners Kuldeep Singh (for evasion) and steeplechaser Chavi Yadav (for anabolic steroid) were also banned for four years each.</p>