Diet, supplement allowance hiked but problems persist

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, July 1

Four years ago, several top Indian athletes failed dope tests in one of the biggest doping scandals to hit the country's sport. Most of the athletes had claimed that they had taken food supplements given by their foreign coach, and that these supplements had contained banned substances.

Four years on, the government continues to merely “advise athletes what to buy” by releasing money instead of making safe, branded supplements available to them. The Sports Ministry today decided to increase the allowance for the athletes to buy the supplements, but it is clear that the government needs to ensure that the athletes have access to safe supplements.

Indian athletes, with easy access to legal steroids and limited knowledge about their consequences, are among the top violators of the anti-doping rules. Recently, India was ranked third by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in the list of the world's top dope offenders. The use of sub-standard food supplements is one of the reasons for this, but the Sports Ministry limits itself to merely releasing the money for buying the supplements through the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

Many experts believe that instead, the Sports Ministry should make branded supplements available to the athletes through outlets owned by government.

“In normal circumstances, an athlete walks to the nearest chemist, buys the supplement, collects the bill and submits it to his association or the Sports Authority of India, which pays an athlete in advance,” says the president of a National Sports Federation (NSF). “In a majority of these cases, these sportspersons either buy substandard supplements, or simply do not buy the supplements. But they submit fake bills, in connivance with the chemists and insiders in the sport bodies, and claim the supplement money to buy steroids.”

A number of chemists in Patiala, who get many walk-in customers, say that many athletes from the National Institute of Sports (NIS) know what they are buying. The athletes are willing to take the risk of being caught for doping as the supplements they are using are inferior. “Some of my clients are the coaches of junior athletes and understand that poor quality protein and other supplements come cheap,” claims one such supplier. “All they are interested in is a bill at the maximum retail price, so that they can get cash in hand. If not from me, they can easily order these supplements on the internet.”

Nearly 600 Indian sportspersons have tested positive for banned substances since 2009, when India's National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) became fully functional. In 2012 alone, 178 Indians were barred from competition. In this duration, Russia has had the second-highest number of suspensions, with more than 300 athletes barred since 2009.

The drug use by Indian sportspersons is highly disproportionate to their achievements in international sport. India has won only 26 medals in the Olympic Games since it began competing in them in 1904 (under the British rule). Russia has earned 482 Olympic medals since it began competing as the Russian Federation in the 1994 Winter Games.

A senior SAI official says that a few years ago, a proposal was made for the SAI to procure supplements of good brands directly from the manufacturers and provide them to the sportspersons. But, he says, the top officials did not accept the proposal. “They said that if sportspersons using the SAI-given supplements are caught for doping, it would give a bad reputation to the country,” he claims.

Today's communication from the Sports Ministry, enhancing the diet and food supplement daily allowance, said: “It is further advised that food supplements to be given to the athletes shall be decided after medical and bio-chemical assessment of each player.”

But it's a fact that many athletes don't even use the supplements. It is a harsh reality that a majority of the Indian athletes come from poor or rural background. They're told by their initial coaches that “milk, fruit and chicken are the right diet”, and supplements do not take them far. “When it comes to daily supplement allowances, many of them do not bother to buy the stuff... They, instead, submit fake bills to ensure that they have the money to buy the “good diet” suggested by their coaches,” said a senior SAI official, preferring anonymity.

SS Roy, Executive Director of the NIS, said: “As far as NIS Patiala is concerned, the supplement money is given to the athletes in advance and they can buy branded supplements from the market and our research and medical experts check if they have any banned ingredient.”

Less than two miles away from Roy's office, the streets are lined with billboards showing bodybuilders flexing their muscles, advertising supplements and steroids that are easily available. “If they are available so easily, why not import and provide the supplements at government approved sports outlets?” said a former SAI official.

The Sports Ministry has said in case athletes prefer a certain brand of supplement, “SAI may purchase such specific brand of supplements within the approved entitlement as stated above”.

That seems like a step in the right direction. But, considering the gravity of the situation, and the high incidence of Indian dope offenders being caught by WADA and NADA, more needs to be done.