Only two Indian athletes – Neeraj Chopra and Sachin Yadav – have been included in the World Athletics Anti-Doping Control Testing (RTP) Register for the first quarter of 2026, a striking contrast given India’s ongoing struggle with doping violations.
Administered by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), the RTP represents the highest level of athletes subject to unannounced testing. Athletes in this pool are required to provide detailed whereabouts information and remain available for testing during a designated 60-minute window each day.
Two-time Olympic medalist Chopra is a constant presence at RTP, reflecting his status as one of the most closely watched athletes in world athletics.
Several Indian athletes who appeared in the previous quarter’s RTP – including Kishore Jena, Avinash Sable, Murali Sreeshankar, Annu Rani and Jeswin Aldrin – were excluded from the latest list.
However, Sachin is a new entrant after his breakthrough performances in 2025, including a fourth-place finish at the World Cup. Signaling his arrival on the big stage, Sachin finished ahead of Neeraj and Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, who finished tenth in Tokyo. Sachin threw a personal best of 86.27 and missed the podium by a whisker.
Neeraj struggled with his fitness issues and they managed eighth placea rare day off on the biggest stage for the two-time Olympic medalist.
India’s limited representation in the RTP comes despite India recording the highest number of doping offenders globally for the third consecutive year.
In comparison, Kenya has 94 athletes and the United States has 69 athletes in the RTP for the same quarter.
According to a 2024 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report, India recorded 260 positive cases out of 7,113 samples – a positivity rate of 3.6 percent, more than double that of any other country.
The findings come at a sensitive time for Indian sport, as the country prepares to host the Commonwealth Games in 2030 and also has ambitions to host the 2036 Olympics.
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Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
January 2, 2026
