Asian Games: Another drug scandal clouds India’s preparations

New Delhi: Another positive doping test has hit India’s preparations for the upcoming Asian Games, with wushu medalist Surya Bhanupratap Singh becoming the latest athlete to be provisionally suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).The 30-year-old from Jammu and Kashmir, the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games bronze medalist in the men’s 60kg Sanda category, has failed an anti-doping test for Enobosarm (Ostarine), a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) designed for muscle and bone development. Ostarine is strictly prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and is classified under S1.2 or “other anabolic agents”.Bhanupratap was dropped from the Asian Games squad and his name was deleted from the government-sanctioned final contingent.Bhanupratap’s case brings to 12 the number of Indian athletes who have failed drug tests since the recent Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, an alarming jump that has affected several disciplines and in some cases costed India competition quotas.The list includes weightlifters N Ajith (71kg), Sairaj Pardeshi (88kg), Harcharan Singh (110kg) and Vanshita Verma (77kg); judokas Arun Kumar (73kg) and Tulika Maan (+78kg); marksman Gaurav Kumar Masoori (10m air pistol); rower Lakshya (light double skull); wrestlers Mukul Dahiya (86 kg freestyle) and Deepanshu (130 kg Greco-Roman); runner Abhishek Pal (5000m and 10000m) and now Bhanupratap (65kg Sanda).A spurt in doping cases has already forced India to reduce its weightlifting representation for the Asian Games. The Glasgow quota was hit by many violations, while only five competitors – Mirabai Chanu (49kg), Gyaneshwari Yadav (53kg), Seram Nirupama Devi (61kg), Harjinder Kaur (69kg) and Rishikanta Singh (60kg) – were named for the Aichi-Nagoya multi-sport event.Wrestling also lost two spots at the Asian Games, dropping from 18th to 16th following the suspension of Dahiya and Deepanshu.Bhanupratap was a strong medal prospect in the men’s 65kg Sanda event. He is also a two-time World Wushu bronze medalist, finishing third in the 60kg category in Jakarta in 2015 and Kazan in 2017. He won bronze in the same category at the 2018 Asian Games.With the exclusion of Bhanupratap, the Indian wushu team now consists of seven athletes. The latest case highlights the growing challenge for NADA and Indian sports bodies to keep doping cheats out of playing teams.