India ranked among the many prime two in athletics’ most anti-doping rule violations between 2022 and 2025, AUI says.
Revealed On 20 Apr 2026
Indian athletes should now meet more durable anti-doping necessities after their federation was positioned within the highest-risk class of World Athletics, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has mentioned.
India was elevated on Monday to an inventory of countries the place there’s an “extraordinarily excessive” threat of doping.
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) joins the likes of Russia, Belarus, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Ukraine within the AIU’s highest score of Class A after being moved up from Class B.
Class A method India’s athletes should now adjust to extra stringent anti-doping necessities.
The world’s most populous nation ranked within the prime two for essentially the most anti-doping violations in athletics between 2022 and 2025, the AIU mentioned.
“The doping scenario in India has been high-risk for a very long time and, sadly, the standard of the home anti-doping programme is just not proportionate to the doping threat,” AIU chair David Howman mentioned.
“Whereas the AFI has advocated for anti-doping reforms inside India, not sufficient has modified.
“The AIU will now work with the AFI to realize reforms to safeguard the integrity of the game of athletics, as we have now achieved with different Class A member federations.”
The AIU is an unbiased physique tasked with combating corruption and wrongdoing, together with doping, in athletics.
India is about to host the 2030 Commonwealth Video games, seen as a stepping stone for its ambition of staging the 2036 Olympics.
Within the newest doping case in Indian athletics, Asian Video games gold medallist archer Prathamesh Jawkar has been banned for 2 years.
He accepted the punishment for a whereabouts failure and can miss the Asian Video games in September-October in Japan.
World Anti-Doping Company (WADA) chief Witold Banka, who was in New Delhi final week, mentioned India is the biggest producer of performance-enhancing drugs.
Nevertheless, he famous that India persistently main the listing of drug cheats is not going to hamper its possibilities of internet hosting prestigious world sporting occasions.
AFI spokesperson Adille Sumariwalla mentioned the federation was working with the AIU, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports activities and the Nationwide Anti-Doping Company to handle the problem.
“AFI has bought a powerful plan , and we’re all for criminalising doping on this nation,” Sumariwalla, additionally a World Athletics vp, advised the Reuters information company.
“There’s nothing mistaken in additional scrutiny. Extra athletes are getting caught in India as a result of extra exams are being carried out.
“We’re combating it tooth and nail. The crooks and criminals doing it needs to be stopped by police. We’re not police, our job is to create a coverage, and the federal government helps.”
When an Indian delegation visited the Worldwide Olympic Committee headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, final yr, they have been advised to curb the doping menace to spice up their Olympic bid.
