Former Asian Games discus thrower Seema Punia has been banned for 16 months after failing a drugs test. The 42-year-old’s suspension took effect on November 10 – the day of the Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel’s (ADDP) decision – according to an updated list of offenders released by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).
However, NADA did not disclose the substance she tested positive for. The latest offense adds to Punia’s checkered doping history, which includes two previous offences, one of which she committed at junior level when she was just 17 years old.
Punia last competed at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in October 2023, where she won a bronze medal. A four-time Commonwealth Games medalist, she has won three silver medals and regularly competes in major international events.
She has not competed since the Hangzhou Games, although she has expressed a desire to retire after the 2024 Paris Olympics, for which she did not qualify. During her long career, Punia has represented India in four Olympic Games (2004, 2012, 2016 and 2020) and five Commonwealth Games.
Her career spanning more than two decades paralleled that of fellow discus player and 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medalist Krishna Poonia. Her personal record is 64.84 m, which she achieved in 2004.
However, Punia won medals in each of her first four appearances at the Commonwealth Games she missed the podium at the Birmingham 2022 edition. Her first and only Asian Games gold came in the 2014 Incheon Games, followed by a bronze in 2018. At the junior level, she secured a bronze medal at the 2002 World Championships.
Earlier this year, she also worked as a coach to Para-javelin thrower Sandeep Chaudhary, who won a silver medal at the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi.
Along with Punia, several other Indian athletes were suspended for doping violations. Distance bowler Pooja Yadav was banned for four years, bowler Manjeet Kumar was suspended for six years and middle distance runner Nikesh Dhanraj Rathod was banned for four years. Marathoner Kuldeep Singh and steeplechaser Chhavi Yadav were also banned for four years for separate offences.
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Issued by:
Rishabh Beniwal
Published on:
December 6, 2025
