NADA bans athletics coach Rakesh Kumar for life over banned substances

Athletics coach Rakesh Kumar has been banned for life for doping, while powerlifter Gaurav Vats has been provisionally suspended for possession and trafficking of banned drugs in the latest sanction list released by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) here on Wednesday.

Rakesh was suspended last March and his ban will start from this period.

National interstate bronze sprinter Prakruthi Roopa Rao has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for the banned steroids Stanozolol and Drostanolone.

Among other prominent names, weightlifter Chelsi, who won a gold medal at the Khelo India Games, was banned for five years for failing a drug test.

Among other provisional suspensions, the new additions include a smaller weightlifter after testing positive for Oxandrolone.

Quarter-finalist Kaushal Kumar, hurdler Jujhar Singh and long-distance runner Baljeet Kaur were among those suspended as doping continued to cast a shadow over Indian athletics.

A total of seven names from athletics are on the temporarily suspended list.

Among those suspended by NADA is Powerlifter Vats, whose nutritional supplement company premises were at the center of a crackdown on banned drugs.

In April, a tip-off from NADA’s Intelligence & Investigations (I&I) unit resulted in the seizure of several banned substances, including anabolic steroids such as methenolone and stanozolol, from Vats premises in Najafgarh following a joint operation involving the local police.

The joint task force was led by the Central Food Safety Officers (CFSO) and officials from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) were also represented.

Approximately 2,800 capsules/tablets and 11 injection units of prohibited substances were recovered, including anabolic steroids — methenolone enanthate, trenbolone and stanozolol.

300 tablets of Methandienone and 850 tablets of Oxandrolone were obtained along with 1500 capsules of Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator (SARMs). All of these substances are steroids banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) because they can be abused to build muscle to gain an unfair performance advantage.

Also among the recoveries were injections of adenosine monophosphate, a banned hormone and metabolic modulator that aids endurance.

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Issued by:

Debodinna Chakraborty

Published on:

16 Sep 2026 15:49 IST