Unfair play: What is driving India’s doping surge?

Bengaluru: Syringes, needles and an overwhelming stench in the toilets of a stadium left Urvi Khasnis unsettled during a national-level athletics meet a decade ago. It was a disheartening sight for the former athlete, who is now a sports performance psychologist and a teaching fellow at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. The morale of a clean sprinter was dented even before she competed because some of her rivals had ‘pumped in artificial boosters’. 

“Monitor growth, monitor growth,” a father repeatedly asked Dr Chitra Selvan once every three months, over a period of two years in recent times. The father was asking after his children, who played sports. The usual duration between height checks is about six months. With the kids growing adequately and the Growth Hormone (GH) levels normal in both, the professor, and head of endocrinology at the Ramaiah Medical College in Bengaluru, declined each of his requests to start growth hormone therapy.  

When athletes test positive, pleading innocence is the instant reaction. And this defence mechanism of ‘dope cheats’ infuriates Adille Sumariwalla. “That is absolute rubbish,” fumes the vice-president of World Athletics and a former president of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI). “95% of those caught would have done it aware!” 

Urvi, Dr Chitra and Sumariwalla, like several others, have either directly or indirectly been a victim or witness to doping. This dreaded topic in sports made headlines once again recently, when India topped the World Anti-Doping Agency’s 2023 positivity rate list for use of banned substances, among countries which analysed 5,000 or more test samples. This was after India recorded the highest number of violations in 2022 as well. 

The doping crisis in Indian sport is no longer limited to a few errant individuals; it is widespread and entrenched. The use of performance-enhancing substances has grown into a pattern that points to systemic failure. Easy access to banned drugs, pressure to deliver results, and the promise of rewards have created an environment where shortcuts often appear more practical than perseverance. 

What was once considered a rare breach of discipline is now an uncomfortable norm in many corners of Indian sport.

From a total of 5,606 samples in 2023, India’s positivity rate for banned substances stood at 3.8% with 214 Adverse Analytical Findings (AAF). Of the total samples, as many as 2,748 tests (49.01%) were conducted in-competition (the period commencing just before midnight at 11:59 pm on the day before a competition or until the end of the competition). In 2022, 3,865 tests returned an AAF rate of 3.2%, according to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

What is startling is the fact that India's positivity rate for banned substances was significantly higher than China (28,197 samples, 0.2% AAF rate), USA (6,798 samples, 1.0% AAF rate), France (11,368 samples, 0.9% AAF rate), Germany (15,153 samples, 0.4% AAF rate) and Russia (10,395 samples, 1.0% AAF rate).

“I say it is very good that more people are getting caught. That means NADA (National Anti-Doping Agency) is doing a very good job,” says Sumariwalla, who was AFI’s head for three continuous terms from 2012 to 2024. 

“Before I became the [AFI] president, we used to test 100-120 samples, but today we are testing 1,200-1,500 samples per year. So naturally, more people will get caught,” points out the 67-year-old Olympian. 

The numbers back up Sumariwalla’s observations. Track and field topped the chart of positive cases with 61 AAFs from 1,233 samples, ahead of weightlifting, 38 AAFs from 451 samples. 

A risky affair

As you catch a breath to make sense of those numbers and digest the fact that India is on top of a dubious podium which could be steered clear of, the question arises: Why do athletes take shortcuts despite knowing the repercussions? The answer to this is anything but simple. 

For Indian athletes, who mostly belong to modest socio-economic backgrounds, without reliable education to depend on, finding a stable job either in a government institution or the private sector for their livelihood becomes a desperate need. A medal at the state or national-level competitions guarantees cash incentives, job opportunities, a shot at fame and recognition —  all of which contribute to a dignified life in a highly judgmental society. 

In a hopeless attempt to garner one or all of the above, sportspersons become perpetrators of such malpractices to fast-track the progress towards those goals. 

“Because, the narrative begins to lean towards ‘if you do not take it, you will not make it’. Thankfully, such experiences never bothered me. But there comes a time when every athlete decides if they want to go down that route or rather quit and do something else. Many accept the fact that doping is part of the system and are brave enough to continue as clean athletes to not risk losing everything,” says Urvi.  

The mentality is much the same when coaches or parents — for reasons ranging from improving their professional profile, financial status and/or peer pressure — encourage their students or children to cut corners. 

“What many do not realise is that the clean athletes, most times, end up as collateral damage,” feels Urvi. 

Doping in minors

If drug abuse is rampant among senior players (above 18 years) across sports, doping among minors is spreading faster than ever before. 

In the latest list of provisionally suspended athletes released by NADA (as on July 7, 2025), as many as 11 minors are among a total of 135 names who were suspended for using banned substances. The menace came to the fore after the WADA listed India as the second country, behind Russia, in a 10-year global study of positive doping cases by minors. The report was released in January 2024. 

“An idiopathic (when a cause cannot be identified) short stature is a recommended indication for Growth Hormone therapy,” begins Dr Chitra. 

“Many parents of children involved in sports are aware of this fact, and they come in for consultation to eventually request GH. Though it is primarily prescribed to facilitate rapid growth in height, demand for GH in minors is high because of parents' belief that it gives an overall physiological edge in the sporting world,” she explains. 

A GH injection is similar to a diabetic patient taking insulin by themselves, according to the dosage a doctor prescribes. Again, the situation gets out of control when parents or coaches do not follow the doctor's instructions.  

“This is the difference people need to understand. The GH given for a growth spurt is a normal physiological dose. But when the medication is injected three to four times more than the normal prescribed standard, then it is called doping,” says Dr Chitra. 

The side effects? She adds: “In children, the overdose of GH therapy could lead to deformity at the top of the thigh bone, where it is attached to the pelvis at the hip joint. This leads to difficulty in walking normally. It could also lead to headaches, injection site pain and allergies.”

Not enough punishment?

There are unchecked, unofficial centres trafficking performance-enhancing steroids to athletes across the country, according to experts. Easy access to such products comes with the lure of climbing the ladder faster. 

“They (athletes or coaches) are spending Rs 2 to 3 lakh to procure these banned substances,” says Sumariwalla. 

“Centres in Haryana, Tamil Nadu and a few other parts of the country supply prohibited drugs to sportspersons. Most people know about these centres. There may be a maximum of 5% (of those caught) who may get something contaminated in what they are having. Otherwise, today, not only the coaches but, let me tell you, even parents are involved,” he adds. 

What about existing punishments for dope frauds? Are they stringent enough to deter athletes from doping or not? 

The penalties range from disqualification of an athlete’s results and forfeiture of medals, points, and prizes to suspension for a period between three months and eight years. The duration of sanctions depends on the severity of the violation and is outlined under Article 10 of the NADA Rules (2021), which were amended and adopted in their revised form from April 2024. The rules also provide for a reduced period of ineligibility in cases where the athlete admits to the offence early and accepts the sanction.

Not one to mince words, Sumariwalla explains that the punishments currently in place are not deterrents.

“I have been advocating criminalisation of doping since the Act (National Anti-Doping Act 2022) came out. Catch the cheaters, get the police and CBI involved and put some of these dope offenders in jail, so 80% of your problem will disappear," he says. 

“See, today we are at a drastic stage. So we need to take drastic action,” insists the Mumbaikar. 

Quick fix or remedy? 

As discouraging and gloomy as the conversation about doping might appear, there is always light at the end of the tunnel, according to several stakeholders.

A complete clean-up sounds like a pipe dream. But better awareness among the general public, promoting clean sports culture, instilling honesty and integrity in sports from a young age, further strengthening anti-doping measures or testing in regional and national competitions across sports, could be the way forward to achieve a reduction in dope offenders. 

In a virtually connected and technologically advanced world that we live in today, all it takes is downloading an app to learn about the banned substances for an athlete. This is highlighted on the home page of the NADA website along with WADA’s prohibited list, in which new drugs are added, old ones removed or re-introduced each year.

Out of the 5,606 samples, track and field topped the chart of positive cases with 61 AAFs from 1,223 samples. In what could significantly change this negative image for the sport that is on the upswing, the AFI has made it mandatory for all coaches to register with the federation. Those coaches who fail to do so will not be allowed to train athletes, while the athletes training under unregistered coaches will not be recommended for national awards. Furthermore, to identify suspect coaches involved in doping of their wards, the AFI has decided to form an anti-doping cell.

With the buzz about India hosting the 2,036 Olympics getting louder, the never-ending cat and mouse chase surrounding doping has picked up pace. For every anabolic steroid that makes it to the banned list, they say, a newer and improved version is injected into the market. 

In the end, as Indian sports eyes a global stage, the question becomes more pressing: Is the fleeting glory of a tainted medal ever worth the cost of a ruined legacy?